Team Czechia handed a 6-4 defeat to Team Canada on Sunday during the semifinals of the IIHF World Junior Championship. This was the third straight year the Czechs have gotten the better of the Canadians. Their two previous losses came in the quarterfinals stage.
The see-saw encounter saw both teams level the score each time from 1-1 to 4-4. In the dying moments of the game, with 18:46 played in the third period, Thomas Poletin scored via a deflection from a shot towards goal by teammate Maximillian Curran. Vojtech Cihar later scored an empty netter with 26 seconds remaining to win the game.
Canada will now play Team Finland in the bronze medal game on Monday. That will be followed by the marquee gold medal game involving Team Czechia and Team Sweden.
Team Canada fans took to X to voice their displeasure with the team’s performance with reactions targeted at wonderkid Gavin McKenna who spearheaded the Canadian forward line.
“Wait this was the semi finals?! Wow. Thats a bad loss. I’m having serious doubt about Gavin McKenna. Is he a fraud? Can he play with the big boys?” a fan questioned.
@HockeyCanada Wait this was the semi finals?! Wow. Thats a bad loss. I’m having serious doubt about Gavin McKenna. Is he a fraud? Can he play with the big boys?
“McKenna is not generational. He doesn’t take over dominant games,” a fan wrote.
@BizNasty2point0 McKenna is not generational. He doesn’t take over dominant games
“Idk Gavin McKenna looked like he didn’t even break a sweat other than when he was yelling at the ref,” a fan said.
@puckempire Idk Gavin McKenna looked like he didn’t even break a sweat other than when he was yelling at the ref.
“Gavin Mckenna gonna light up the AHL for the next 10 years,” a fan stated.
@HockeyCanada Gavin Mckenna gonna light up the AHL for the next 10 years
“This program has been so embarrassing the last 3 years,” a fan noted.
@HockeyCanada this program has been so embarrassing the last 3 years
Team Canada had started their tournament with a 7-5 win over Team Czechia in the preliminary round. Their getting knocked out means it will be the first time since the 2016 edition that the gold medal game will not feature either Team Canada or Team USA.
Gavin McKenna deflated after Team Canada’s loss
Gavin McKenna expressed his disappointment during his postgame press conference, losing out on a gold medal in his second consecutive appearance at the World Juniors.
“It’s the same feeling,” said McKenna. “Letting your country down sucks.”
McKenna picked up a game misconduct penalty in the dying moments of the game. He was part of a group of Canadian players penalized for their dissent towards the referees.
He hopes to put it behind them and fight for a place on the podium.
“Very tough, but doing it for Canada,” McKenna said of playing for bronze. “We’ve got to regroup to be ready.”
McKenna is projected to be the NHL’s No.1 pick in the upcoming Draft. He has scored 244 points in the Western Hockey League over the last three seasons and is currently part of the Penn State University program in the NCAA Big Ten league.
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Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy