GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Tomas Hamara’s country had not won a medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships in nearly 20 years heading into the 2023 tournament.
The Czech Republic ended up owning two in two years.
On Friday, Hamara scored the winning goal with 1:41 left in regulation, and the Czech Republic fought back from a 5-2 deficit late in the second period to shock Finland 8-5 and win the bronze medal.
“We played as a team the whole tournament,” said the Ottawa Senators prospect, who also had two assists. “There really wasn’t an individual, it was a team.
“I’m really happy to be a part of it.”
The Czech Republic finished fourth in 2022 before losing to Canada in the gold medal game 12 months ago. Until then, the Czech Republic had not won any hardware in the U-20 competition since winning silver in 2005.
For the Czech Republic, Ondrej Becher added a hat trick and two assists, while Jiri Klić scored one goal and provided two assists.
Jakub Stankle had a goal and an assist. Dominik Raimon had one of the two empty netters for the Czech Republic. Matthias Merowski contributed with three assists.
“It’s really tough,” Hamara said of his return. “But after the second period, we believed we could do it.
“We knew a lot of people didn’t believe in us, but we did.”
Czech Republic international Michael Hrabal started in goal, but conceded two goals on three shots and was sent off eight minutes into the game. Jakub Vondras stopped 17 of 20 shots as a reliever.
The U.S. defeated Sweden 6-2 in the gold medal game later Friday, with the hosts still looking for their first home victory of the tournament.
Leni Hamenaho scored twice for Finland. Jani Nyman added a goal and an assist.
Rasmus Kumplainen and Konsta Helenius anchored the rest of the Finnish attack, but the Finns also missed out on the podium 12 months ago after winning silver in 2022.
Aleksanteri Kaskimäki and Kasper Kronunmi both added two assists. Niklas Kokko made 23 stops.
The Czech Republic defeated Canada in the quarterfinals and lost to Sweden in the semifinals.
Down 5-4 late in regulation, Boettcher tied the game with a rebound with 1:56 remaining.
Hamara then made a point shot 15 seconds later, and Lymon and Boettcher added empty-netters.
Finland, aiming for its 18th world junior medal, took a 2-0 lead in the first round.
The Czechs tied the game with goals on either side of the intermission, but Helenius made it 3-2 8:52 into the second half, and Hameyenaho scored his first goal of the day just 19 seconds later. He added his second goal of the game at 14:32 for a 5-2 lead.
However, Becher pulled one back for the Czechs with 55 seconds remaining, and by the 40th minute, the gap had been reduced to two. Couric scored his second goal of the three at 4:41 to make it 5-4, using late momentum to lift his country to its fifth podium finish.
“We wanted another medal,” Hamara said at the end of his third World Juniors. “Something very happy happened.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2024.
___
Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.
Joshua Clipperton, Canadian Press