Comments / New

2026 World Junior Hockey Championship: Czechia beats Canada for third consecutive year

The Czechs prevent Canada from playing for gold for a third consecutive year.

Posted on by Justin Blades
Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

In the first semifinal of the 2026 World Juniors, Sweden got past Finland in a shootout to become the first team to advance to the Gold Medal Game. Canada and Czechia took to the same ice later in the day, each hoping to be the team to join the Swedes in the championship match.

It was a very tight-checking start to the game, much different from how the game between the nations had been played on the opening day of the tournament in what was a 7-5 win for Canada. There were few shots and fewer scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes of play.

The first great chance went to Canada’s Michael Hage on a power play, but his shot went off the pad of Czech netminder Michal Orsulak and then the post. Tij Iginla came out on the next unit and accepted a great feed from Michael Misa through traffic, ensuring the chance wouldn’t go to waste by giving his team a 1-0 lead.

Less than two minutes later, Czechia tied the game. Canada attempted to play the puck behind its net, but it was picked off by Adam Benak. Benak sent it back toward to point to Tomas Galvas, who sent the puck toward the net. It ended up on the stick of Maxmilian Curran who beat Jack Ivankovic five-hole.

The goal sent the teams to the intermission in a 1-1 tie, still anyone’s game with 40 minutes to play.

Just under four minutes into the second, the Czechs took the lead. A failed clearing attempt left Canada scrambling to get the puck back, and they never did as Czechia moved it around the zone. It ultimately came to the stick of Adam Titlbach in the slot, and he sent it high over Ivankovic’s glove.

As the game passed its midpoint, shots were 12-7 for the Czechs, who were looking strong in their effort to end Canada’s hopes for gold for a third consecutive year.

The game took another turn when Petr Sikora fell over Ivankovic and was eventually called for slashing. On the power play, Hage hit his second post of the night from right in the slot, but the Czechs sent the puck over the glass in a desperate attempt to clear the crease. On the resulting five-on-three, Hage had another shot that went off the body or Orsulak and then the post as the puck refused to go in for Canada’s #29.

Canada finally got one of their power-play shots to go, and it came off the stick of leading scorer Zayne Parekh, The defenceman was a bit off-balance as he accepted a pass in the slot and just flipped it toward the net, but it went off the pants of teammate Cole Reschny and fluttered over the line to tie the game.

Hage’s speed resulted in a breakaway with a chance to give Canada a lead, but his hand was slashed just as he went to shoot, resulting in a penalty shot. On that one-on-one versus Orsulak, he was tripped by the goaltender, and that meant another penalty shot was awarded. On his third breakaway of the sequence, Hage attempted a sweeping deke to open up the glove side of the net, but lost the handle, and the change went for nought.

The missed opportunity with two minutes to go was a costly one. Ethan MacKenzie turned the puck over while trying to carry it through the neutral zone, leading to a two-on-one for the Czechs. Curran sent it across the ice to Benak, and with 43 seconds to play in the second period, Czechia took a 3-2 lead.

Canada was desperate to even things up as the third period, and went to work in the offensive zone. It took four minutes for them to find the goal they were looking for, when Reschny accepted a pass from Hage, and was given plenty of space to walk the puck to the front of the net and send it behind Orsulak.

You might have expected the game to settle down once it became tied in the third, but the opposite occurred, with the two teams flying around the ice to trade scoring chances. The next stretch was played with few whistles, with a lot of desperate defending from both teams as the offensive players went to work.

When the whistle finally did sound, it was accompanied by the goal horn. Three Canadian players were lined up along the blue line trying to prevent an entry, but only forward Caleb Desnoyers turned to follow Vojtech Cihar to the net. He couldn’t keep up with the speed of the attacker, and Cihar was able to pull Ivankovic to the left as he shot the puck into the right side of the net.

Despite taking the lead, Czechia kept its foot on the gas and remained on the attack, testing Canada’s beleaguered defence. One one play at the side of Canada’s net, Gavin McKenna got his hands up into the face of his man and shoved him down, going off for cross-checking at a critical time.

Czechia spoiled its own chance to at least take some time off the clock by botching a line change and playing with six skaters. Canada immediately responded with their own mistake on the ensuing offensive-zone faceoff, when Misa played the puck with his hand after taking the draw, heading off for delay of game.

Surviving the penalty, Canada was able to go on the attack, and it took only a few seconds for Porter Martone to collect a rebound in front of the net and tuck it into an open cage to tie things at four.

Czechia hadn’t let up for a second in the game, and that didn’t change despite the late tying goal. They charged up ice and sliced through Canada’s defence to get the puck to the crease, and it went off the skate of Tomas Poletin and in to give his country a lead with 74 seconds to play.

Reschny got a good chance to tie the game again, but when it didn’t go he put his shoulder into the goaltender to send him to the ice, and that made what was already a difficult situation much more so with Canada down a player.

Forced to pull Ivankovic just to play at five-on-five, Cihar played the puck down the ice and fired the puck into the vacated net for a 6-4 lead to seal the game.

After the goal, McKenna was handed a penalty for abuse of officials, and that was the final addition to the scoresheet in a 6-4 win for Czechia.

The Czechs advance to play Sweden with gold on the line tomorrow. Canada will have to regroup to play the Bronze Medal Game earlier in the day.

Support Habs Eyes On The Prize by signing up for Norton 360

LOGIN SIGN UP

Talking Points