USA advances to gold medal game with 4-1 win over Czechia

05 Jan 2025Henrik Lundqvist»

The United States secured their spot in the World Junior Championship final with a 4-1 victory over Czechia in a spirited semifinal at the Canadian Tire Centre. Powered by a stellar performance from Gabriel Perreault, who tallied a goal and an assist, and captain Ryan Leonard's game-changing contributions, Team USA set up a championship clash against Finland.

USA - Czechia 4-1

The Americans opened the scoring early, just over three minutes into the game. Ryan Leonard, sporting a full visor to protect facial injuries from the quarterfinals, hustled to keep the play alive, diving to send a pass to Gabriel Perreault. Perreault made no mistake, deking past Czech goaltender Michael Hrabal for the 1-0 lead.

Czechia responded at 9:28 with a pinpoint strike from Jakub Štancl, who intercepted a clearing attempt and lasered a shot past Trey Augustine to tie the game. Despite a few dangerous chances for both teams, including a near miss from Perreault on the power play, the first period ended 1-1.

The second frame was marked by conservative play, with both teams focused on limiting mistakes. Midway through the period, overlapping penalties created a brief four-on-four situation followed by a U.S. power play. The Americans capitalized, with Trevor Connelly setting up Cole Eiserman for a blistering one-timer that beat Hrabal and restored the U.S. lead at 2-1.

Czechia had a golden opportunity to equalize when Adam Jecho found himself alone in front, but Augustine came up with a crucial save to preserve the advantage.

The Czechs came out strong in the third, dominating possession and testing Augustine repeatedly. The American netminder’s highlight of the night came when he stretched his right pad to deny Jecho’s shot at a wide-open net, keeping the U.S. ahead.

Czechia’s push faltered after a too-many-men penalty, and the Americans struck again at 15:33. Leonard and Perreault combined for another beauty, with Leonard tapping in a cross-crease pass to extend the lead to 3-1. Oliver Moore sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:53.

“We knew it would be a battle,” Perreault said. “The chemistry with Leonard really showed tonight, and getting that early goal was huge. Now we focus on the final—it’s what we’ve been working toward this whole tournament.”

Czech captain Jakub Štancl was proud of his team’s effort but acknowledged the missed opportunities: “We had our chances, but Augustine played incredible. Now we need to regroup and bring everything we have for the bronze medal game.”

Team USA will face Finland in the gold medal game, a rematch of the 2019 final, which Finland won 3-2. Czechia will take on Sweden for bronze. Both games promise to be thrilling showdowns as the 2025 World Junior Championship concludes in Ottawa.