Ralph Krueger’s team has made lot of fans in Europe happy the past 72 hours — and maybe a few people in Las Vegas nervous.
His team from eight non-traditional hockey nations is driving toward the World Cup semifinals after beating the Czech Republic 3-2, in what started as a Monday afternoon siesta and ended as an overtime thriller.
Monday’s victory on a Leon Draisaitl goal, coming off a Jaroslav Halak save and Mats Zuccarello pass, followed a 3-0 shutout of the Americans, who now face a must-win situation in group play against Canada on Tuesday.
“It’s quite a historic three days for this crew, coming in here 33-to-1 long shots with the Vegas bookies,” coach Krueger said.