The day after an impressive 3-2 overtime win over the USA, Czechia once again won with a dramatic flair, defeating Sweden 3-2 on a power-play goal by Jakub Vanecek with 20.3 seconds remaining in regulation time on Day Two of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Men’s World Championship. That gives the Czechs five out of six possible points against the two teams considered to be the giants of Group B.
“I think on our team we have pretty good chemistry with each other and that’s why we won yesterday and today,” Vanecek said after the game.
“I guess not too many people expected that, but we really believe in our team,” Czech assistant coach Ladislav Smid began. “We really believe in the concept of our system. The players are buying into it, and they see that they’re getting rewarded.”
The Swedes had also won their opener on Wednesday, which meant the winner of this game would lead the group at the halfway point.
It was clear that both teams meant business off the opening faceoff, as the early going was fast-paced with several hits and big collisions, and no play was complete without post-whistle pushing, shoving and facewashes. The Czech team, having scored a couple of goals against the USA by digging hard for pucks in the crease, tried to do the same in this game but Kevin Tornblom and the Swedish defenders were equal to the challenge. Most of the first period was played in the Swedish zone, however, with the Czechs holding a decisive 11-2 edge in shots.
Czechia finally broke through just past the five-minute mark in the second period when Rene Rehak led a rush into the Swedish zone. It finished when Adam Klaus picked up the puck in the high slot and ripped a shot over Tornblom’s glove and into the top corner.
Two minutes later, Sweden had an excellent chance to even it back up but Martin Psohlavec snared Nils Bartholdsson’s shot from the slot with his glove. Another minute after that, the dangerous Marcus Nordmark got a breakaway but shot wide.
The middle frame closed with a couple of minutes of frantic back-and-forth action at breakneck speed, but neither team was able to finish off their chances and Czechia took the 1-0 lead into the final 20.
Midway through the third period, Dominik Ripa, the overtime hero against the USA, very nearly made it 2-0. His shot from a tight angle got through Tornblom and several Czech fans behind the net started to celebrate but the Swedish goalie managed to rescue it in time.
Just seconds later, the Swedes went to the power play and it took just seven seconds to cash in. Bosse Meijer won the faceoff and, a few passes later, the puck was on Nordmark’s stick at the top of the slot, and he fired a shot that beat Psohlavec to the short side.
Czechia had held the edge in play to that point but the Swedes started to turn the tables at this point, with much of the play now in the Czech zone. With 3:30 remaining, the Swedes broke in 2-on-1 but Psohlavec handled the shot from Max Isaksson.
But it was the Czechs who came out on top in the end. With 2:01 to play, Vilgot Liden was sent off for tripping and the Czech power play went to work. Vanecek took the pass and fired it over a diving Tornblom, sending the Czech team and all of their fans inside Vladimir Dzurilla Ice Stadium into a frenzy.
“I passed it to the top and I got the most amazing pass from Petr Tomek,” Vanecek described. “I couldn’t miss the net.”
Both teams have a day off on Friday. On Saturday, Czechia takes on Germany and then Sweden faces the USA.
