Czechia is seeking a medal at the World Juniors for the third consecutive year, but they were hoping for a color different from their last two: bronze and silver. Instead, the loss against the Americans on Saturday night has them in the bronze medal game for the second consecutive year.
“It’s tough,” Czechia captain Eduard Sale said. “U.S. played pretty good structurally.
“We were bad. Not bad. But we didn’t play our game and we didn’t have energy. So, we need to be better next game.”
“I think the U.S. played a really strong game,” Czechia head coach Patrik Augusta said. “They didn’t really push us too hard. But they played so smart and they were waiting for their chances. They weren’t cheating for them and we gave it to them at the end.”
Meanwhile, Sweden will play for bronze as they did during the 2023 tournament in the Canadian Maritimes. The Swedes have one gold medal to show for in their entire history at the World Juniors. They too are trying to wash away disappointment after losing to rival Finland in overtime during their semifinal encounter.
“We don’t want to go home with fourth place. We want to win,” Sweden’s Otto Stenberg said after his team’s loss on Saturday.
GO FURTHER
World Juniors Today: Previewing USA-Finland and Sweden-Czechia
