In the final game of day two at the 2026 World Junior Championship (WJC), Czechia and Denmark squared off. After the first period and a half, the game was tightly contested, but Czechia eventually pulled away, winning 7-2 to even their tournament record at 1-1.
Game Recap
Czechia got on the scoreboard early on in the first period, with Vojtěch Cihař (Los Angeles Kings) having the puck deflect off him in front of Denmark netminder Anton Wilde and into the net less than three minutes in. The upset-minded Denmark team answered back rather quickly and evened the score at one, less than three minutes later, as Tristian Peterson scored right out front of Czech netminder Matyáš Mařík. Czechia took advantage of a five-minute power play halfway through the opening period to take a 2-1 lead after Matěj Kubiesa beat Wilde with a strong shot from the flank spot on the man-advantage, while also taking advantage of a screen by Tomáš Poletín (New York Islanders). The Czechs took a 2-1 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of play.
Another power play goal from Václav Nestrašil (Chicago Blackhawks) early in the second period extended Czechia’s lead to 3-1 before Denmark answered with another goal of their own. The second goal of the game for Denmark came off the stick of Oliver Larsen after a quick faceoff win in the offensive zone. Czechia scored two unanswered goals in the period following Larsen’s goal, with Adam Jiříček (St. Louis Blues) and Štěpán Hoch (Utah Mammoth) adding to the Czechia, as they headed to the third period with a 5-2 lead.
Related: Guide to the 2026 World Junior Championship
Czechia added two goals in less than a minute in the opening five minutes of the third period to extend their lead to 7-2. Tomas Galváš added another power play goal off a shot from the point, and was then followed up by a goal from Richard Žemlicka on a two-on-one rush. That lead held up, as Czechia earned their first win of the tournament.
Denmark falls to 0-2 in the tournament and returns to the ice on Monday (Dec. 29) to face Canada. Czechia will play on Monday as well, taking on Finland in a midday matchup.
