The Czech Republic scored three goals in three minutes and coasted past Germany 7-2 in the World Cup of Hockey on Friday.
Vaclav Prospal had one goal and two assists for the Czechs.
PHOTO: AFP
They outshot Germany 18-10 in the first period but it took defender Marek Zidlicky to open the scoring on a power play at 2:56 into the second with a powerful slapshot from the left.
Another NHL defenseman, Jiri Slegr, added the second goal moments later, and Jaromir Jagr scored the third from close range at 5:52.
Jagr, the home crowd favorite and star of the New York Rangers, scored his first goal in the tournament after two disappointing losses to Sweden and Finland.
"Team Czech played an outstanding second period, we had nothing to put against them," Germany coach Franz Reindl said.
Oliver Jonas replaced Germany goalie Robert Mueller after the three-goal burst, but Milan Hejduk and Patrik Elias added two more goals in the second period to give the Czechs a decisive 5-0 lead.
"The rest of the match [after the second period] was more of an exhibition game," Czech coach Vladimir Ruzicka said.
Tino Boos and Jochen Hecht scored for Germany in the third period, and Martin Havlat and Prospal made it 7-2 for the Czechs.
Germany sidelined No. 1 goalie Olaf Kolzig for the match, giving him some rest before the quarterfinals.
On the Czech side, Martin Rucinsky and Robert Reichel were also absent due to minor injuries.
The victory gave the home team third place in the European Pool behind Sweden and Finland, beating Germany into fourth place.
The Czechs will play in the quarterfinals against the group's runner-up. Sweden and Finland will clash for first place in the pool in an eagerly awaited showdown in Stockholm on Saturday.
US 3, Slovakia 1
The US hockey team showed some energy in the World Cup of Hockey, beating Slovakia 3-1 Friday for its first win in the tournament.
Bill Guerin, Jason Blake and Bryan Smolinski scored for the younger, quicker, US team, which moved into third place in the North American Division. Slovakia dropped to fourth at 0-2.
After being outworked against Canada and Russia, US coach Ron Wilson benched NHL star Brett Hull along with three other regulars. The Americans responded with their best offensive output of the tournament, outshooting Slovakia 39-17.
The US team had 24 shots against Canada and 21 against Russia.
Wilson started goaltender Rick DiPietro to save Robert Esche from playing three games in four nights. Esche stopped 72 shots against Canada and Russia. DiPietro didn't face nearly the same intensity against Slovakia, finishing with 16 saves.
After Thursday night's 3-1 loss to the Russians, a frustrated Wilson said he would shuffle his lineup because the team lacked energy. He scratched Hull, Craig Conroy, Brian Rolston and Eric Weinrich.
His players got the message and on third shot of the game, Smolinski poked in a rebound past Jan Lasak for a 1-0 lead at 3:09.
Slovakia tied it at 8:46 when Pavol Demitra found Ladislav Nagy on the left side of net.
The Americans regained the lead when Blake scored his first goal of the tournament at 13:27 of the first.
Guerin sealed the win at 16:17 of the third on a breakaway when he backhanded a shot past Lasak. Slovakia had only two shots in the final period.
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