Czechia has sent Canada packing at the past two World Juniors.
In Sweden two years ago, a Jakub Stancl goal with just 21 seconds left in regulation gave Czechia a 3-2 win over Canada in the quarterfinals.
It was a similar story exactly one year later, as Adam Jecho’s last-minute goal gave Czechia a 4-3 win over Canada and a spot in the semifinals in Ottawa.
Canada exercised its quarterfinal demons a bit with a 7-1 thrashing of Slovakia on Friday and will not have a chance for revenge against Czechia in the semis tonight.
GAME DAY! Semifinal Sunday in Saint Paul. 🇨🇦🇨🇿
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) January 4, 2026
JOUR DE MATCH! En demi-finale ce dimanche à Saint Paul. 🇨🇦🇨🇿
⏰ 7:30 p.m. CT / 19 h 30 HC
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A bit of a rivalry has formed between the two countries over recent World Juniors tournaments and it only heated up with their Boxing Day showdown to begin this year’s event.
Canada ended up winning that high-scoring affair 7-5, but the Canadian players left the ice without shaking hands in what was generally brushed off as an honest mistake.
While the Boxing Day matchup was important for seeding, there’s exponentially more at stake in tonight’s semifinal matchup.
The winner will move on to Monday night’s gold medal game against either Sweden or Finland, who will face off in the other semi at 1:30 pm PST today. The losers of both games will play for bronze earlier on Monday.
Jack Ivankovic is expected to get his second straight start in goal for Canada. The action kicks off at 5:30 pm PST on TSN tonight.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of the IIHF.
