The opening game of the 2026 World Junior Championship between Sweden and Slovakia on Friday afternoon, Dec. 26, was an interesting one. Both teams had strong starts, but it was Sweden who pulled ahead in the second period with two straight goals on the power play. However, Slovakia didn’t go away so easily as they forced a goal in the final minute of the middle period to get back within one.
It looked like Sweden was going to pull away again when they got a shorthanded goal early in the third, but it was overturned due to goaltender interference, and the lead remained 2-1 for Sweden. Slovakia did fight back to tie it, but Sweden got the final goal and took the win 3-2. In this article, we’ll look at some takeaways for Slovakia, starting with their need to stay out of the penalty box.
Slovakia’s Special Teams Struggles
While there was only one penalty called per team in the opening period, the calls started to mount up in the second, with three for each team, and it felt like they were marching to the box as one was called almost right after the other. While Sweden was able to make the most of their power plays with back-to-back goals, Slovakia struggled to do the same.
They did knock in one power play goal towards the end of the second period, which got them within a goal, but they had many other chances they missed out on that could’ve swayed the game in their direction. They had some strong shots, but Sweden’s goaltender was ready and stopped nearly all of them.
If Slovakia wants to get on the winning side, they need their penalty kill to step up and their power play to produce. Although they did kill off penalties and did score a power play goal, if they’d been able to kill off one more penalty and score one more power play goal, it could’ve been a different outcome because they did have plenty of chances.
Slovakia’s Goaltender Stands Tall
Although his team didn’t pull out the win in the end, the play of Alan Lendak was impressive. He stopped a lot of solid chances for Sweden, including when they were right on top of him in his crease. Many were expecting to see Michal Pradel in the net, but they went with Lendak, and he made 29 saves on 32 shots.
Sweden’s power play has a lot of heavy, strong shooters, and although they did score two goals, it could’ve been quite a few more if it hadn’t been for Lendak. He faced several of Sweden’s top scorers and stopped them in their tracks and gave his team a chance to win. Although his play didn’t earn his team a win, it did earn him “player of the game” for his team.
Sweden controlled portions of the game, which reflects the overall result, but again, Lendak stepped up and gave his team the chance to come back and tie it after being down two goals, and he gave them the chance to win. It’ll be interesting to see which goaltender Slovakia chooses for their next game, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Lendak after how confident he played.
Slovakia Came Close
Slovakia wasn’t given much of a chance in this year’s tournament, but with their play against Sweden, that may start to change. They were fast and played a heads-up style that caught Sweden off guard at times. Of course, they didn’t get the win partially because they got themselves stuck in the penalty box quite a few times, but they still found a way to fight back.
They found themselves down 2-0 early with Sweden scoring back-to-back power play goals that could’ve sent a wave of defeat through almost any team, but they stepped up and fought back. They gave themselves a great chance to win, and they have some strong players on their team with the skills needed to score goals. Players like Tomas Pobezal, who scored their first goal, was very noticeable throughout the game.
Plus, Tobias Tomik, who tied the game for Slovakia at one point, was also another strong player to keep an eye on. The one player who didn’t score a goal and deserves some recognition was Adam Nemec, who showed some solid hands, and although he didn’t end up on the scoresheet, he’s one to watch as this tournament moves forward.
Related: 10 Players to Watch at the 2026 World Juniors
Slovakia may have lost their first game, but that doesn’t mean their tournament is over. While there are the favorites, and the team’s expected to do well, that doesn’t mean upsets can’t and don’t happen. Slovakia should focus on the good of their game against Sweden and put that into their next game when they take on Germany on Saturday, Dec. 27. They could come out with a win.
