Czech men's hockey coach blames refs after Canada loss: 'Playing against 6 players'

Czechia men's hockey coach Radim Rulik had a somewhat ironic criticism of the officiating after his team's 4-3 overtime loss to Canada at the Milan Cortina Games.

"The referees really worry me. ... After every game, we send them two or three clips where they confirm that the opponent should have been penalized," Rulik said following Wednesday's quarterfinal defeat, according to RonoAnalyst. "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."

However, Czechia had too many men on the ice when Ondrej Palat scored a late go-ahead goal that nearly led to an upset of the heavily favored Canadians. The infraction wasn't called.

"In this respect, it's not a fair tournament. ... The guys deserved a top-level performance from the referees," Rulik continued. "They always admit afterward that we were right, but nothing ever changes. We should have had power plays against Canada. But they were afraid (David Pastrnak) or (Martin Necas) would score another power-play goal."

The referees called five penalties during the game, with Czechia serving three minors and Canada getting called for two. Pastrnak gave Czechia its first lead of the game with a power-play goal late in the first period. Nathan MacKinnon equalized with the man advantage midway through the second.