Czechia 6, Canada 4: Tomas Poletin (New York Islanders) scored with 1:14 remaining in the third period to help Czechia advance to the gold-medal game against Sweden at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).
Poletin was battling at the net front with Canada forward Michael Misa (San Jose Sharks) when a shot by Czechia forward Maxmilian Curran (Colorado Avalanche) deflected off his skate and into the net for a 5-4 lead.
Vojtech Cihar (Los Angeles Kings) scored two goals, and Curran and Adam Benak (Minnesota Wild) each had a goal and two assists for Czechia. Adam Titlbach (2026 draft) scored, and Michal Orsulak (2026 draft) made 20 saves.
“We were ready, the guys had energy,” Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said. “There was a lot of energy in the room before we got out, even more than last year, I felt. We played really good 5-on-5. We didn’t want to give up power-play chances for Canada, we knew how great they are on the puck with the man advantage.
‘I’d say we were a little more hungry and the guys just showed they are a team, showed a lot of character and a lot of will to beat them.”
Zayne Parekh (Calgary Flames), Tij Iginla (Utah Mammoth), Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers) and Cole Reschny (Calgary Flames) scored for Canada, and Michael Hage (Montreal Canadiens) had two assists. Jack Ivankovic (Nashville Predators) made 31 saves.
Canada will play Finland for the bronze medal Monday (4:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).
“Gave up too many goals,” Canada coach Dale Hunter said. “Played on our heels a bit. But we got battling, battled back a couple times, came back on them. Got to play better defensively.”
Czechia has defeated Canada in the medal round in three straight World Juniors, after victories in the quarterfinals of the 2024 and 2025 WJC.
Iginla made it 1-0 Canada with a power-play goal at 15:14. A Parekh shot from the blue line went wide of the net and kicked off the boards back into the slot. Misa and Jett Luchanko (Philadelphia Flyers) fought for possession at the side of the net, with Misa passing through the crease to Iginla for the goal.
Curran tied to 1-1 at 16:56.
Titlbach put Czechia ahead 2-1 at 3:44 of the second period. A one-timer by Max Psenicka (Utah Mammoth) from the right face-off circle was blocked, but the puck came back to him, and he found Titlbach in the slot for a shot that went past Ivankovic’s glove.
Parekh scored during a 5-on-3 power play to tie it 2-2 at 12:38, scoring from the right face-off circle through a Reschny screen.
Hage had two penalty shot chances to put his team ahead at 18:04. After missing on his first chance, referees ruled he had been tripped by Orsulak and gave him another attempt. But as he skated in, the puck rolled off his stick as he tried a backhand deke.
Benak finished a 2-on-1 rush to put Czechia ahead 3-2 at 19:17. A Canada giveaway at center ice led to Curran leading the odd-man break-in. He made a pass through the seam to Benak, who finished with a shot past Ivankovic’s left pad.
“I think just our confidence was there,” Benak said. “We knew that we are a good team. We know that we can play hockey, and we just knew that we will win today. So that’s what we did. And we are happy for that.”
Reschny tied the game 3-3 at 3:59 of the third period. Hage passed the puck to Reschny along the goal line on the right side of the Czechia zone, and he stepped in front and stuffed it under Orsulak.
Cihar put Czechia ahead 4-3 at 9:49 when he took a pass from Vaclav Nestrasil (Chicago Blackhawks), cut around Canada forward Caleb Desnoyers (Utah Mammoth) as he skated to the net, and lifted the puck over Ivankovic’s left shoulder.
Martone tied it for Canada 4-4 at 17:19 when he banged in the rebound of a Harrison Brunicke (Pittsburgh Penguins) shot from the net front.
After Poletin’s goal, Cihar scored an empty-net power-play goal at 19:34.
Sweden 4, Finland 3 (shootout): Anton Frondell (Chicago Blackhawks) scored in the eighth round of a shootout to help Sweden advance to the gold-medal game at Grand Casino Arena.
“I blacked out,” Frondell said. “It was an amazing feeling. Third time. I had three tries, so happy the last one went in.”
Ivar Stenberg, a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and Eddie Genborg (Detroit Red Wings) each had a goal and an assist, and Love Harenstam (St. Louis Blues) made 33 saves for Sweden, which advanced to the championship game for the second time in three years.
Sweden, which seeks its first gold medal since 2012, is 22-20 with two ties in the all-time series against Finland since the inaugural 1977 World Juniors. The last 10 matches between the rivals has been decided by one goal, including Finland’s 4-3 overtime victory in the semifinals at the 2025 WJC in Ottawa.
“It was a good game, a little up and down, but the second period was really good for us,” Stenberg said.
Sweden’s line of Stenberg, Viggo Bjorck (2026 draft eligible) and Genborg combined for five points (two goals, three assists).
Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings) made 36 saves for Finland.
“I’m just really sad right now,” Rimpinen said. “This is going to sting for the rest of my life, for sure. So [a heck] of a group. We played a really good game against a really good opponent and fought till the very end. And of course, needed one more save.”
Linus Eriksson (Florida Panthers) gave Sweden 1-0 lead just 36 seconds into the first period when his shot from the top of the left face-off circle from along the boards deflected off the glove of Rimpinen and into the net.
Atte Joki (Dallas Stars) pulled Finland into a 1-1 tie at 16:26 of the first when his shot from the top of the right circle beat Harenstam inside the right post.
Stenberg gave Sweden a 2-1 lead during a delayed penalty on a snap shot from the high slot at 1:20 of the second period.
Jasper Kuhta (2026 draft eligible) made it 2-2 just 50 seconds later when his shot attempt from the slot bounced off the glass and back over the net before Sweden defenseman Alfons Freij (Winnipeg Jets) swung and knocked it off of Harenstam’s back and into the net at 2:10.
Genborg gave Sweden a 3-2 lead at 14:07 of the second when his shot at the left post bounced in behind Rimpinen, whose stick got stuck in the netting inside the goal.
Joona Saarelainen (Tampa Bay Lightning) pulled Finland into a 3-3 tie at 14:01 of the third period, scoring from low in the right circle after the puck bounced off two players in the slot.
In the shootout, Matias Vanhanen (2026 draft eligible) scored in the second round for Finland, and Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers) scored in the fifth round, and Frondell won it three rounds later.
“I was so nervous,” Berglund said. “You can’t block that out. But I love those moments. … I’ve dreamed about shootout like that. So it was a relief to see it go in as well.”
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