Sweden weathered a frantic last-minute comeback from Czechia to win 4-2 and take home their first world junior gold medal in 14 years on Monday.
The game appeared all but over before Adam Jiříček slapped home Czechia’s first goal with 2:30 left in the contest to make the score 3-1.
With the Czech net empty, Matej Kubiesa made it a one-goal game with another slap shot one-timer from the point with 24 seconds remaining.
Ivar Stenberg managed to pot an empty-netter to stave off the Czech rally.
Casper Juustovaara opened the scoring for Sweden in the first period after Jack Berglund deked through Czechia’s defence shorthanded and set up Juustovaara for a tap-in from behind the net.
Victor Eklund added on with a power-play goal in the second.
Sascha Boumedienne one-timed an insurance marker less than five minutes into the third period. Berglund and Stenberg each tallied a pair of assists.
Sweden dominated puck possession and limited Czechia’s scoring chances in the first two periods, outshooting them 26 to 11.
Sweden finally managed to break through after making the semifinals in each of the last four years, including a finals loss to Team USA on their home soil in 2024.
More to come.
