2026 World Juniors: Top standounts from Canada vs. Czechia semifinal
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Czechia has beaten Canada in a playoff game for the third straight year, winning 6-4 to advance to the final.
With the win, Czechia is guaranteed to keep its medal streak alive for four years. Czechia hasn’t won gold since going back-to-back in 2000 and 2001, but they won silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024 and 2025. Canada, meanwhile, will seek its first medal since winning gold in 2022 and 2023. The team has won bronze five times previously, but not since 2012.
The Czechs were definitely the better team early on, but Canada managed to step up with the 1-0 goal. Tij Iginla opened things up on the power play at 15:14, only for Max Curran to answer back a minute later.
Canada would find out during the first intermission that Brady Martin would not return to the game due to injury, leaving the team with just 11 forwards. That didn’t seem to work out well for Canada early in the period, as Adam Titlbach scored at 23:44 to give Czechia its first advantage of the game.
Canada would then take advantage of a two-man advantage at 32:38. Zayne Parekh would give his team some life, blasting a shot past Michal Orsulak, who had found ways to rob Canada’s attackers continuously. Michael Hage would find himself in a unique situation six minutes later, when, on a penalty shot attempt, he was tripped by Orsulak and was awarded a second opportunity. He came up short, and it backfired when Adam Benak restored Czechia’s lead.
Canada kicked off the third period looking strong, with Cole Reschny tying the game up once more. But a defensive breakdown by the Canadians at 49:49 resulted in Vojtech Cihar scoring after breaking past four Canadians to make it a 4-3 game.
Canada was desperate for a late goal, and they got one from Porter Martone at 57:19. But late goals from Tomas Poletin, and another from Cihar, ultimately sent the Czechs to the gold medal game.
Canada
#19 Zayne Parekh, D (Calgary Flames): Parekh was everywhere for Canada, shot-wise. He had six of Canada’s 18 shots through 40 minutes, which included scoring the 2-2 power-play goal. Parekh is Canada’s power-play quarterback, and he took full control of Canada’s offensive push. Parekh has put everything on the line to become tournament MVP, and I continue to love his performance.
#11 Tij Iginla, LW (Utah Mammoth): Iginla scored the opening goal for Canada, and then seemed to be one of the few who could generate much of anything in the second period. He’s fearless – he rushes through the middle with no care in the world and often gets a scoring chance out of it.
#21, Cole Reschny, RW (Calgary Flames): Between the screen on the second Canadian goal, and then the tying marker early in the third, Reschny saved his best game for when it really mattered. With Martin injured, Reschny was suddenly thrust into more important minutes and he absolutely delivered. Good day for Flames fans – both new and old.
#29 Michael Hage, C (Montreal Canadiens): Hage will probably wish he had a third chance on the penalty shot, but I still loved his effort. His awareness on the power play helped lead to the second Canadian goal – Hage absolutely thrives in open space. Once Martin went out, Hage found another level to his game – but he probably wished he had his net-front presence out there.
Czechia
#30 Michal Orsulak, G: Orsulak had been a bit hit or miss in this tournament, but he easily played his best hockey tonight. Between a pair of huge glove stops during one Canadian chance, to absolutely robbing them twice on a 5-on-3, Orsulak played out of his mind. His ability to react quickly to changes in direction or passes makes him difficult to beat at times.
#23 Tomas Galvas, D: While most of what I’ve liked from Galvas has been his play with the puck, it was actually how he broke up plays that I liked the most today. He broke up various plays at the blueline, knocking the puck out of danger and getting the puck back on the attack. Galvas has been passed over twice, and while concerns about his size (and lack of English)
#12 Maxmilian Curran, C (Colorado Avalanche): Curran loved the spotlight tonight. He scored the game-tying goal late in the first period and then outlasted a diving effort from Harrison Brunicke at the end of the second to set up Adam Benak for the go-ahead marker. Curran’s poise with the puck has paid off so many times throughout the season in the WHL and he has channeled that energy into the playoff round in Minny.
#15 Vojtech Cihar, LW (Los Angeles Kings): Two goals – a night he’ll never forget. Cihar has been Czechia’s best forward (in my opinion) and he put the dagger in the back of the Canadians. What a night.
#17 Petr Sikora, C (Washington Capitals): Sikora has been one of Czechia’s top forwards all tournament, and games like today prove why. He doesn’t always need to be flashy or create flashy plays. Instead, much of his brilliance comes from being able to poke pucks out of danger, open lanes for his linemates, or simply shove to get guys off the puck. He was much more physical today than on other outings.
#20 Adam Benak, C (Minnesota Wild): With a three-point night, Benak was huge today. He scored the go-ahead goal and had assists on the first and final goals in his best effort of the tournament. He played with so much pace and confidence and absolutely deserved his massive production today.