Canada suffers stunning loss to Czechia at World Juniors for third straight year
Forget Canada’s hockey rivalry with the United States.
At the World Juniors level, their new nemesis is Czechia.
For the third straight year, Canada was eliminated by Czechia at the World Juniors in heartbreaking fashion.
Maxmilian Curran scored a greasy goal for Czechia with 1:14 remaining in the contest, after a puck hit his skate while he was turned around near the crease.
THE CZECHS HALT THE CANADIAN MOMENTUM WITH A LATE GO-AHEAD GOAL š¦ #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/GLTNRzcTR3
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026
The goal gave Czechia a 5-4 lead. They would add an empty netter to defeat Canada 6-4.
Less than two minutes before Curran’s goal, it looked like Canada could be poised for an epic comeback. Porter Martone erased a 4-3 deficit to tie the game 4-4 with under three minutes to go.
But, it wasn’t meant to be.
“We gave it our all to the very end,” Martone said after the game. “It’s a tough pill to swallow.”
Even though Canada beat Czechia 7-5 to kick off the tournament on Boxing Day, they were chasing their new World Juniors nemesis for most of the game. They had just six shots on goal at the midway point of the contest, and were outshot 37-24 in the loss.
Although the score was close, Canada deserved to lose this game. They were too reliant on a dominant power play and far too permissive in their own end.
Unfortunately, losing to Czechia in crushing fashion has become the new norm for Canada at the World Juniors.
Last year, Czechia eliminated Canada in the quarter-finals after Adam Jecho scored for Czechia with 40 seconds remaining in the game.
The year before, Canada gave up a goal with 11.7 seconds left to Czechia forward Jakub Stancl, resulting in another quarter-final elimination.
This is only the third time in the history of the World Juniors that Canada has failed to make it to the Gold Medal game in at least three straight years. The only other instances were in the early years of the tournament.
Canada missed out on three straight Gold Medal games between 2012 and 2014. They also missed out on gold or silver for four straight years between 1978 and 1981.
Unlike their other two losses to Czechia in 2024 and 2025, Canada will get a chance to play for bronze on Monday against Finland at 1:00 p.m.
Czechia will play Sweden in the Gold Medal Game at 5:30 p.m.
Sweden hasn’t won gold at the World Juniors since 2012, and Czechia hasn’t taken home gold since 2000.