Friday was the quarterfinals round at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship and all seven of Utah’s prospects participated. Let’s take a look at who’s advancing to the semifinal round.
Czechia 6, Switzerland 2
CZE: Hoch, Pšenička; SUI: Johnson
Czechia scored five unanswered goals, starting halfway through the second period, to beat Switzerland and book a ticket to the semifinal round. Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima, and Jakub Fibigr all scored for Czechia in the quarterfinals. Leon Muggli and Jamiro Reber scored for Switzerland.
For Czechia, Max Pšenička played 19:20 in the win and had one shot on goal. Stepan Hoch played 13:24 and also registered a shot.
Ludvig Johnson played 20:01 for Switzerland in his final game of the 2026 tournament. Johnson played five games total. He had one goal and one assist for two total points.
Czechia’s semifinal matchup is against Canada on Jan. 4. Game time is 6:30 p.m. MT.
Finland 4, USA 3 OT
FIN: Väisänen
Arttu Valila’s overtime game-winner booked Finland a ticket to the semifinals, and sent USA, the two-time defending champions, home. Heikki Ruohonen, Leo Tuuva, Joona Saarelainen, and Valila scored for Finland while Cole Hutson, Cole Eiserman, and Ryker Lee scored for USA.
Veeti Väisänen played 17:08 and was +1 in the win. Finland will face Sweden in the semifinal round on Jan. 4. Game time is 2:30 p.m. MT.
Canada 7, Slovakia 1
CAN: Beaudoin, Desnoyers, Iginla
In a dominant quarterfinal win, Canada beat Slovakia, 7-1, to advance to the semifinal round. Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly, Brady Martin, Porter Martone, and Cole Beaudoin scored for Canada while Jan Chovan had Slovakia’s lone goal.
Iginla played 13:47, had one goal, registered five shots, and was +3. Beaudoin had a goal and an assist for two points, played 15:39, had one shot, and was +2. Caleb Desnoyers played 9:02 and had an assist in the win.
Canada will face Czechia in the semifinal round on Jan. 4. Game time is 6:3
