Canada is back in the world junior semifinals after back-to-back years of heartbreak.
The Canadians defeated Slovakia 7-1 in the quarterfinals on Friday to book a spot in the medal round.
Canada will face a familiar foe in Czechia in Sunday’s semifinal, after the Czechs eliminated Canada in back-to-back quarterfinals in 2024 and 2025.
Canada got balanced scoring in the win over Slovakia, with seven different goal scorers — Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly, Brady Martin, Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin — all contributing to the win. Zayne Parekh and Keaton Verhoeff each had two assists.
Canada beat Czechia 7-5 on Boxing Day in the group stage, en route to winning Group B. Czechia advanced to the semifinals after a 6-2 win over Switzerland. The other semifinal will see rivals Sweden and Finland clash after Sweden beat Latvia 6-2 and Finland upset the United States 4-3 in overtime.
