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How Team Canada almost got screwed by the refs in Czechia quarterfinal thriller of the Olympics
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- How Team Canada almost got screwed by the refs in Czechia quarterfinal thriller of the Olympics
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Hockey in the Winter Olympics is heating up with the bracket set. The two best teams on the ice are Team USA and Team Canada . The quarterfinals of the hockey bracket are officially set up. The last game remaining is Team USA vs. Sweden. Still, the story of the round was the crazy quarterfinal matchup between Team Canada and Team Czechia and how Team Canada escaped in overtime .
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Canada escaped with a 4-3 overtime win against Team Czechia. However, the game was not without controversy . On Team Czechia's go-ahead goal that made the game 3-2, Czechia had six players on the ice, as captured by The Athletic's senior NHL writer Thomas Drance. The pictures were all over social media, and the officials just missed them.
However, Team Canada won in overtime, and it basically bailed out the officials after they missed the call. Nick Suzuki scored a game-tying goal, and Mitch Marner won it in overtime for the Canadians. However, that call still stands out, especially if Canada had lost the game.
You can count the six Czechia skaters in white jerseys there before the breakout to the other end that led to Ondrej Palat 's lead-taking goal.
The craziest part is that six players took part in the celebration. The photographs circling social media are from the immediate aftermath of the goal. Only players on the ice would join in that celebratory hug, and you can clearly see there were six.
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Too many men on the ice is a penalty. If the referees notice, they would call it immediately, and then there'd be no chance for Czechia to possess the puck and score.
The penalty usually comes during line changes, when a player comes on too early or another stays on too long. However, it appears this happened so organically that no one noticed, besides some social media sleuths.
It was an emotional game for the Canadians. Sidney Crosby was injured early on , Connor McDavid tied an NHL player record for the most points scored in a single Olympics, and then, after going down 3-2 off a controversial goal, rallied back thanks to Nick Suzuki and Mitch Marner to advance. This team moves on to the semifinals of the Winter Olympics.
Related: Quinn Hughes plays hero, saves Team USA with overtime winner vs. Sweden
Related: Sidney Crosby's Olympic semifinal status up in air with injury imaging coming
