BRATISLAVA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Italy are still waiting for their first goal at 2019 Ice Hockey World Championship after losing 8-0 to the Czech Republic on Friday.
The Czech Republic are their fifth opponents in a row to deny Italy scoring any goal at all, although they had at least five top chances during the Group B clash. The Czechs outplayed their struggling opponents in every aspect of the game.
Michael Frolik lead his team with two goals and two assists, Dmitrij Jaskin had a 2-plus-1 night in Bratislava's Ondrej Nepela Arena. Goaltender Pavel Francouz made 15 saves on his 2019 debut. Italy's Marco de Filippo Roia stopped 40 shots.
Italy conceded a whopping 38 goals in their five preliminary games without scoring a single one and faces a real threat of being eliminated from the elite category unless they do something about it on Saturday against Norway, and the Czech Republic will meet Austria on Sunday. Enditem
