OTAWA –
Canada was eliminated from the world junior hockey championship in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
Adam Jecho scored the game-winning goal on a power play with 39.4 seconds left in regulation as the tournament hosts fell 4-3 to the Czech Republic on Thursday.
Petr Sikora, Jakub Stancl and Eduard Sale scored the other goals for the Czechs, who defeated Canada with a lucky rebound in the dying moments 12 months ago in the under-20 event in Gothenburg, Sweden. Michael Hrabal made 29 saves.
Tanner Howe, Porter Martone and Bradly Nadeau responded for Canada, which failed to medal at consecutive junior world championships for the first time since the country instituted its program of excellence in the early 1980s.
Carter George stopped 22 shots. Brayden Yager had two assists for the Canadians, who never found their rhythm in the country’s capital.
The Czechs will face the United States in the semifinals on Saturday. Sweden will face Finland for the other spot in Sunday’s title match.
Down 3-2 in the third and with their tournament on the line, the Canadians finally tied it when Nadeau scored his second goal of the tournament with 4:18 left in regulation.
But Canadian defenseman Andrew Gibson was awarded a penalty for kneeling with 2:27 left and the Czechs finally got past George when Jecho scored on a one-timer to break the hearts of the Canadians.
Czechia, who took silver in 2023 after losing to Canada in the gold medal fight before securing bronze last year, opened Thursday’s scoring just 43 seconds into the first period when Sikora redirected his fourth goal of the showcase beating George in a 2 against 1. 1.
Canadian forward Cole Beaudoin was assessed a five-minute major foul and a misconduct midway through the period for kneeing Sikora, who stayed down before eventually returning for the power play.
Canada, which had yet to give up a goal at five-on-five before Sikora’s early icebreaker, tied the game shorthanded when the six-foot-six Hrabal stopped Yager on a breakaway, but the team captain then found Howe in front. for his first at 10:17.
Sikora was loudly booed by the crowd once he returned for the man advantage when disaster struck for Canada. Sam Dickinson tried to knock out a shot from Stancl, whose deflected goal from Oliver Bonk was the difference in last year’s quarterfinals, but instead pushed it into George’s net at 12:45 for the forward’s fifth goal .
The Czechs then silenced the red-clad Canadian Tire Center crowd with 2.1 seconds left in the period in which Sale scored his fifth on a 2-on-1 to put the 20-time gold medalists in a deep hole.
Nothing happened to Canada in the second, there was even some booing at home, before Sale received a minor penalty for kneeling and Martone deflected Tanner Molendyk’s shot with 2:20 left in the period.
The Canadians continued to press in the third.
Mathieu Cataford put the puck in the net midway through the period, but the play was immediately called back due to goalie interference. Head coach Dave Cameron unsuccessfully challenged the decision, resulting in a delay of game penalty.
Canada put an end to that and Easton Cowan was stopped on a partial break with less than six minutes left before Nadeau tied the score.
Canada beat the Czechs 3-2 in the countries’ final exhibition match and played well in its first match of the tournament before a pair of lackluster performances, including a surprising 3-2 penalty shootout loss to Latvia, before suffering a defeat 4-1. to the United States on New Year’s Eve to finish third in Group A.
The Canadians entered Thursday with just 10 goals in four games and the worst shooting percentage of the 10 teams in Ottawa. Discipline problems also boiled over against the Americans as they committed 11 minor penalties and allowed three goals on seven U.S. power plays.
Martone returns
The Canadian forward returned to the lineup after missing the last two games. Martone, 18, of Peterborough, Ont., is expected to be among the first names off the board in the 2025 NHL draft. Carson Rehkopf was eliminated.
Sweden, the United States and Finland advance; Germany survives
Sweden jumped out to a 3-0 lead before holding on for a 3-2 victory over Latvia to advance to the semi-finals. James Hagens and Ryan Leonard each scored twice as the United States defeated Switzerland 7-2. Finland beat Slovakia 5-3. Germany beat Kazakhstan 4-3 in the relegation match to secure their spot at the 2026 World Youth Championship in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2025.
