No. 1 seed Canada narrowly survived an upset bid from No. 8 seed Czechia at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Wednesday, scraping by with a 4-3 final score in an overtime thriller.
The gold medal-favorite Canadians needed a late-game equalizer from Nick Suzuki and a game-winning overtime goal from Mitch Marner to advance to the Olympic semifinals.
Czechia put the entire country of Canada on red alert when Ondrej Palat scored a goal to claim a 3-2 lead with 7:42 remaining in the game.
This goal sparked some serious controversy as Czechia had six skaters on the ice for the entire goal-scoring sequence. In fact, all six skaters celebrated the goal together on the ice.
While Canada still came out on top with the win, this egregious no-call resulted in some serious backlash directed toward the Olympic officiating at Milano Cortina.
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“How did no one notice 6 guys on the ice for that long? They even celebrated together! Not a single mention of it. @Olympics make sure the refs can count!” one fan wrote.
“There were clearly 6 Czech skaters on the ice during the sequence that led to their 3rd goal. Imagine the controversy if Canada had lost the game…” another added.
‘Czechia had six skaters on the ice during this entire sequence. That’s how bad the officiating was today and that’s how close we came to a national riot,” another said.
“SIX SKATERS. Am I the only one who saw that? I do not know the Olympic rules on challenges, But something should’ve been done,” another wrote.
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Canadian star Sidney Crosby suffered a lower-body injury in the second period that held him off the ice for the remainder of the contest. His status will be closely monitored as the title favorites prepare for their semifinals matchup.
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