Czechia put a tremendous scare into Canada during the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Czechs held a late 3-2 lead in the third period before Nick Suzuki tipped home the tying goal with 3:27 left in regulation, and Mitch Marner then sealed a Canadian win just 1:22 into overtime.
The Czechs fought hard against the gold-medal favorites, only to see their tournament come to an end heartbreakingly. The emotions from such a huge, close game boiled over for Czechia head coach Radim Rulik postgame, who went on a rant about how he believes the officiating was biased against his team.
“The referees really worry me,” Rulik said, per @RonoAnalyst. “What they’re allowing against us is unacceptable. After every game, we send them two or three clips where they confirm that the opponent should have been penalized. I don’t understand it. I just don’t get it. I feel like everyone is afraid to call anything against Canada. We were basically playing against six players. I don’t want to make excuses, and no one has to agree with me, but the video backs me up.”
Rulik’s complaining, particularly his reference to the Czechs seemingly playing against six men, is incredibly ironic given how his team scored its biggest goal in the game. With 7:42 remaining in regulation, Tomas Hertl laid out to block a Thomas Harley shot that led to Ondrej Palat finishing off an odd-man-rush chance at the other end of the ice.
The goal put the Czechs up 3-2 and, for a while, looked to be one of the biggest in the nation’s history. However, it was scored with the Czechs blatantly having six players on the ice.
Rulik was also unhappy with how the IIHF and IOC handled the mix of officials for the tournament, which included both NHL referees and officials from various international leagues. He asserts that the different leagues are officiated differently, which can lead to confusion among players about what is and isn’t acceptable on the ice.
During Wednesday’s game, the Czechs and Canadians had an American referee, Chris Rooney, a Swedish referee, Michael Holm, and two Canadian linesmen, David Brisebois and Jonny Murray. The three North Americans are NHL regulars.
“In this respect, it’s not a fair tournament,” Rulik said. “It was happening to us even against Denmark. The mix of NHL and European referees hasn’t worked — everyone calls the game differently. I watch two NHL games on replay every single day. The play Necas made today — when his stick was touched on the breakaway — is always a penalty in the NHL. But suddenly, not here.
“I’m really sorry about it. The guys deserved a top-level performance from the referees. They always admit afterward that we were right, but nothing ever changes. We should have had power plays against Canada. But they were afraid Pasta or Necas would score another power-play goal. And if Gudas was penalized, then Doughty should have been too for the hit on Pasta.”
The Canadians did receive one more power play than the Czechs in the game, but they also controlled much more of the five-on-five play. Both teams recorded power-play goals, so the special teams battle ended completely even.
With the win, the Canadians have moved on to the semifinals, where they will take on Finland. The Finns won their own thriller on Wednesday, making a comeback from 2-0 down to Switzerland, getting an overtime goal from Artturi Lehkonen.
