It’s semifinal day at the World Juniors, where two games will determine which countries will play for gold and which will compete for bronze. With the United States eliminated in the quarterfinals, there will be a new gold medallist this year, and all four remaining countries have their eyes firmly on the prize.

Sweden has consistently gotten off to quick starts in this tournament. It took them just 10 seconds to score in their quarterfinal against Latvia, and in the semifinals they struck again, this time just 36 seconds into the game.

This goal came with a bit of help. Entering the offensive zone, Swedish forward Linus Eriksson threw the puck toward the net without much intent to score. Finnish goaltender Petteri Rimpinen — who had been outstanding throughout the tournament — flat-out missed it. The puck appeared to be going wide, but Rimpinen clipped it just enough to redirect it into his own net. It was not the start Finland was hoping for.

Things could have gotten worse moments later when Finland took a penalty, giving Sweden an early power play and a chance to jump out to a quick two-goal lead. Finland killed it off, however, and that allowed them to settle into the game and put the early mistake behind them.

Finland had a pair of power plays in the opening period but could not find the equalizer. Sweden did an excellent job blocking shots and gave the Finns very little to work with.

With just over three minutes remaining in the first, Finnish forward Atte Joki — playing with his helmet chinstrap undone — fired a shot from the high slot that slipped through a defender and beat the Swedish goaltender just above the left pad. Joki, who had spent most of the tournament at the bottom of Finland’s lineup, recorded his first point of the event, tying the game heading into the intermission.

Sweden struck early again in the second period. One minute and 20 seconds into the frame, Ivar Stenberg took a drop pass and wired a shot through the legs of a Finnish defender and past Rimpinen to restore Sweden’s lead. Stenberg, who struggled at the beginning of the tournament , has looked increasingly dynamic in recent games — a big reason his name is expected to be called early in the next NHL draft.

The lead did not last long. Finland tied the game on an unusual sequence when Jasper Kuhta fired a puck from the front of the crease that deflected high off the glass. As the puck came back down, Swedish defenceman Alfons Freij tried to swat it out of midair but instead knocked it straight down off his own goaltender’s back and into the net.

Sweden regained the lead on yet another odd goal. From behind the goal line, Eddie Genborg threw the puck toward the net. Rimpinen, sliding across, got his stick caught in the side of the net, leaving him in an awkward position. The puck bounced off the side of the cage, off Rimpinen’s pad and into the net.

Finland pushed late in the period, controlling play in the Swedish zone while two Swedish players were without sticks. The Finns hit the crossbar but could not find the equalizer before the buzzer.

Finland finally kept Sweden off the scoresheet early in a period. Ivar Stenberg took a slashing penalty, giving Finland a chance to tie the game on the power play. That opportunity was cut short when Leo Tuuva retaliated with a slash on Leo Sahlin Wallenius. Sahlin Wallenius could have also been penalized for the initial cross-check or embellishment, but only Tuuva was assessed a minor. Sweden failed to capitalize on the abbreviated power play.

Finland found its breakthrough moments later. A floating wrist shot from the point bounced off bodies in front and landed on the stick of Joona Saarelainen, who buried the loose puck to tie the game for the third time.

Neither team could find a go-ahead goal late in regulation, sending Sweden and Finland to overtime in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. Finland had won some recent notable overtime games, including last year’s semifinal and a quarterfinal win over the United States earlier in the tournament.

In overtime, possession was split pretty evenly to begin the period before tilting in favour of Sweden. Ivar Stenberg would get the first scoring opportunity and Finland would have a couple chances but nothing really dangerous. Then Viggo Bjorck had the game on his stick not just once but four times. On all four breakaways, Finnish goalie Rimpenen kept the door shut.

Bjorck couldn’t catch a break. After missing his four great scoring chances he’d take a slashing penalty to put Finland on the powerplay with two minutes remaining in overtime. Sweden would be just trying to get it to a shootout.

On the powerplay, Finland had all the control. Swedish goalie Love Harenstam made a couple of huge saves to deny Finland the win. Finland even hit a post but they just couldn’t find that goal on the powerplay and overtime ended. It would be a shootout to decide who would be playing for gold.

After a brief ice-related delay, the shootout finally began and what a show it was.and it was.

Björck was given a chance at redemption but failed to convert his fifth breakaway attempt since the beginning of overtime. Leo Tuuva and Anton Frondell were also stopped. Finnish forward Mattias Vanhanen opened the scoring in the second round, while Ivar Stenberg flat out whiffed on the puck in his attempt.

Emil Hemming hit the post for Finland, Victor Eklund missed for Sweden, and Jasper Kuhta scored to put pressure on the Swedes. Swedish captain Jacob Berglund responded with a clutch goal to keep Sweden alive. Julius Miettinen with a chance to win it failed to score.

In the sixth round, Vanhanen missed, and Frondell rang a shot off both posts. The seventh round passed without a goal, and in the eighth, Vanhanen was denied again. Frondell stepped in for his third attempt and beat Rimpinen five-hole to send Sweden to the gold medal game.

What an incredible game this was. From the first drop of the puck to the shootout winner this game was always intense and was one of the best semi-final games this tournament has seen. Sweden will now play for gold in hopes of winning their first gold medal since 2012. Finland will have to settle for a chance at the bronze medal.

Canada and Czechia have built significant recent history at the World Juniors, meeting in the playoffs in each of the past six tournaments. The two most recent match-ups ended in Canadian losses, setting the stage for another intense battle.

Czechia controlled much of the first period, using a relentless forecheck and tight neutral-zone play to limit Canada’s chances. The Czechs generated early looks but failed to create anything truly dangerous.

A Czech penalty opened the door for Canada. On the power play, Cole Reschny set up Michael Hage with a cross-crease pass, but Hage’s shot hit the pad and then the post. Moments later, a point shot from Zayne Parekh missed wide, bounced to Jett Luchanko and onto Michael Misa’s stick. Misa fed Tij Iginla at the front of the net, and Iginla buried the opener.

Canada nearly extended the lead, but Gavin McKenna hit the post and Caleb Desnoyers was denied on a point-blank chance.

Czechia tied the game after Canada turned the puck over attempting to exit the zone. Jack Ivankovic made the initial save but could not stop Maximilian Currins’ rebound, which slid under the pad.

Late in the period, Jett Luchanko was assessed a questionable cross-checking penalty after being pushed into the Czech goaltender. Canada survived the remainder of the frame but opened the second period shorthanded.

Czechia carried its momentum into the second, hemming Canada in its own zone. The pressure paid off when Titlbach fired a shot from the slot past Ivankovic, who was without his stick. This gave Czechia their first lead of the game.

Czechia nearly added another on a three-on-one immediately after, continuing to dominate play. At this point, Czechia had outshot Canada 9–1 after the Iginla goal.

Canada eventually stabilized and earned a lengthy five-on-three power play. Czech goaltender Michal Orsulak made several outstanding saves, but Zayne Parekh’s wrist shot deflected through traffic and tied the game. The goal was initially credited to Cole Reschny before being changed to Parekh.

Late in the period, Michael Hage was awarded a penalty shot after being slashed on a breakaway. Hage was tripped on the attempt, leading to a rare re-shot, but he was denied again. Moments later, Adam Benák scored on a two-on-one to restore Czechia’s lead heading into the third.

Canada tied it early in the third when Reschny powered his way to the net and tucked the puck home after the Czech goaltender lost an edge. Reschny froze the defence and seemed to catch the Czech goalie off guard making it a fairly easy goal for Reschny.

The game would then go a long stretch without a whistle. Canada would start that time with a lot of offensive pressure but couldn’t convert any chances to goals. The play began to go up and down the ice until Czech forward Vojtech Cihar powered his way past a Canadian forward stuck on defence and then roofed one past Ivankovic to put Czechia on top once again. Zayne Parekh briefly left the game after a hit but returned later.

With six minutes remaining, a Gavin McKenna penalty was reviewed for a potential major before Czechia nullified its own power play with a too-many-men penalty. Michael Misa then took a penalty of his own by playing the puck with his hand off the face-off, giving Czechia another advantage. Canada killed it off and quickly tied the game when captain Porter Martone buried a loose puck in front electrifying team Canada.

With just over a minute remaining, Czechia scored again shocking Canada. Canada just couldn’t defend when they needed too.

Canada would pressure for the equalizer and Reschny would drive the net and get pushed into the goalie. It would be Reschny that was given a goaltender interference penalty. The Canadian players were incensed but they were now down a man with no time to come back. Czechia would score the empty netter and for a third year in a row, Czechia would beat Canada. Absolute heartbreak for Canada.

Czechia will face Sweden for gold, while Canada will play Finland for bronze.

Cole Reschny was awarded Canada’s player of the game. With one of Canada’s tying goals and what was initially thought to be a goal earlier in the game, Reschny had an outstanding game and played a huge role for Canada. When Brady Martin left injured, Reschny eventually became the main fill in on Canada’s top line. He had the goal and created multiple scoring chances and truly had a presence on the ice. It wasn’t the best way to finish taking that goaltender interference penalty but those calls are frustrating especially when you get pushed into the goalie. It’s gonna be a tough pill to swallow, but look for Reschny to come back on Monday with a chip on his shoulder and do his part in helping Canada earn a medal.

Zayne Parekh is now at the top of a lot of lists. In the tournament he leads everyone in points and is now tied in the goal scoring lead as a defencemen. In terms of Canadian records, he’s now tied with Bryan McCabe and Alex Petriangelo for all time points in a single tournament with twelve. (Editor’s Note: Parekh was, temporarily, but a stat correction removed a point.) Simply outstanding. Unfortunately there won’t be a gold medal to back all that up but hopefully they can at least get something to medal in this tournament for the first time in three years.

Bronze Medal Game
🇨🇦 Canada vs. 🇫🇮 Finland — 2:30 p.m. MST

Gold Medal Game
🇸🇪 Sweden vs. 🇨🇿 Czechia — 6:30 p.m. MST

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