What a way to make your debut at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Starting Friday’s bronze medal game in relief, Sudbury Wolves goalkeeper Jakub Vondras stopped 17 shots as Czechia cruised to an 8-5 victory over Finland and their direct WJC medal.
Tomas Hamara scored the game-winning goal with 1:41 left on Friday as the Czechs rallied from a 5-2 second-generation deficit to disappoint the Finns.
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“We’ve been playing as a team throughout the tournament,” said Hamara, an Ottawa Senators prospect who also dished out two assists. “There wasn’t really any individual. It was a team.
“I’m pleased to be a part of this. “
Czechia lost the gold-medal game 12 months ago to Canada after finishing fourth in 2022. Before that, the nation hadn’t secured any hardware at the under-20 event since grabbing silver in 2005.
Ondrej Becher added a hat trick and two assists for the Czechs, while Jiri Kulich scored a pair and set up two others.
Jakub Stancl scored a goal and provided an assist. Dominik Rymon had one of two empty-net goals for the Czechs. Matyas Melovsky contributed 3 assists.
“It’s difficult,” Hamara said of the return. But after the second generation we believed we could do it.
“We knew that not many people believed in us, but we believed in ourselves. “
Michael Hrabal started as a goal for Czechia but bounced back before the eight minute mark after allowing two goals on three shots.
The U. S. and host Sweden, who won a tournament on home soil for the first time, played for gold later Friday.
Lenni Hameenaho scored twice for Finland. Jani Nyman added a goal and an assist.
Rasmus Kumpulainen and Konsta Helenius are the rest of the attack for the Finns, who were also excluded from the podium 12 months ago after winning silver in 2022.
Aleksanteri Kaskimaki and Kasper Kulonummi both added two assists. Niklas Kokko made 23 stops.
Czechia reached the semi-final against Sweden after beating Canada in the quarter-finals.
Trailing 5-4 in regulation, Becher tied the game with 1:56 left when he grabbed a rebound.
Hamara then attacked the winner with a shot from 15 seconds before Rymon and Becher added the empty nets.
Finland, their 18th medal at the world junior championships, took a 2-0 lead in the first match.
The Czechs tied the game with goals at either interval, but Helenius made it 3-2 at 8:52 before Hameenaho scored his first of the afternoon just 19 moments later. He added his moment of the game at 14:32 for a 5-2 lead.
But Becher conceded a goal for the Czechs with 55 minutes remaining to reduce the deficit to two after 40 minutes. Kulich scored his moment at 4:41 of the third to make it 5-4 before the delay propelled his team in. country on the podium for the fifth time.
“We really wanted a medal again,” Hamara said at the conclusion of his third world juniors. “So happy it happened.”
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