The first game of the 2026 World Junior Championship took place on Friday afternoon, Dec. 26 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, between Sweden and Slovakia. This was the first game for Group A, which also includes the United States, Germany, and Switzerland.
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Love Harenstam was in the net for Sweden, and Alan Lendak was in the net for Slovakia. The game started out even for both sides, but Sweden pulled ahead, and despite Slovakia’s attempts to get back in the game, Sweden took the win 3-2.
Game Recap
Despite some strong chances for both sides, neither Sweden nor Slovakia was able to get the puck past the goaltenders, and the first period ended scoreless. There were more chances for both teams in the second, but it was Sweden who scored near the halfway point of the middle period.
Anton Frondell scored on the power play that gave Sweden the lead. Alfons Freij and Ivar Stenberg assisted him. Sweden extended their lead a few minutes later with a second power play goal, that time from Victor Eklund. Frondell and Jack Berglund assisted him to make it 2-0 Sweden.
Slovakia scored in the final seconds of the second period to get themselves on the board with a goal from Tomas Pobezal, also on the power play. Alex Misiak assisted him. That was the final goal of the second, and Sweden took the 2-1 lead into the third.
It looked like Sweden was going to take a 3-1 lead, but the goal was overturned due to goaltender interference. That call gave Slovakia the momentum to swing the game their way as they scored in the latter half of the final period with a goal from Tobias Tomik. Tobias Pitka assisted him that tied the game up 2-2.
Sweden’s Stenberg scored the go-ahead goal late in the third to put his team up 3-2. Edie Genborg assisted him. That was the final goal of the game and Sweden took the victory, 3-2 over Slovakia. Sweden will be back in action on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 28 against Switzerland. Slovakia’s next game will be Saturday, Dec. 27 against Germany.
