At the 2024 World Junior Championships to be held in Sweden, the Czech Republic overcame a 5-2 deficit to defeat Finland 8-5 and take third place, another eternal bronze medal match.
This is the second consecutive medal for the Czech Republic, having won the silver medal in 2023 for the first time in 18 years. This is also the first time the Czechs have won back-to-back medals since they won gold in 2000 and 2001.
The Finns looked solid from the start, taking a 2-0 lead by the midway point of the first period. At 6:13, Rasmus Kumplainen scored his second goal in two days with a wrist shot that beat the low glove side of Michael Hrabal. A minute later, Jani Nyman doubled the advantage with a screen in front of him, forcing Hrabal, who had allowed two goals on three shots, to be sent off.
The Czech Republic desperately needed a goal before the end of the frame to regain momentum, and they got it. Just eight seconds into the power play, Buffalo Sabers prospect Jiri Klich hit a wrister past Niklas Kokko to make the game 2-1.
The second period was a wild one, with three goals scored in 34 seconds. First, the Czech Republic maintained the momentum and tied the score at 28 minutes and 37 seconds when Jakub Stankle beat Kokko on the man advantage. However, Konsta Helenius’ first goal of the tournament put Finland back in the lead, and within 20 seconds it all came crashing down, but Leni Hamenaho’s goal at 29:11 gave Finland a two-goal lead. I got it back. Haminaho scored his second shot of the game on target, using his individual skills to make it 5-2 on the power play.
Late in the third game, Matthias Sapovaliv and Kasper Haltunen were concentrating on the puck on the ice when a strange moment occurred when they collided. Sapovariv was penalized for contact with the head, but the Czechs quickly scored after Ondrej Becher was sent alone.
But late on, everything fell apart for the Finns. Just 12 seconds into the 44:41 power play, Couric scored his second of the game with a shot very similar to his first, making it 5-4.
From there the Finns completely collapsed. Becher tied it with his second goal of the game with an empty net at 58:04, then Tomas Hamara, Dominik Lymon and Becher’s third goal made it 8-5 with less than a minute to go. He scored 4 points in no time. .