World Juniors: Canada Figured Out How To Break Through In Quarterfinal Win

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – It was, briefly, a tight game.

Slovakia did a nice job clogging up the middle of the ice early in their quarterfinal match against Canada, but Cole Reschny (CGY) found the puck in front of the net to open the scoring and from there, the floodgates opened in a 7-1 Canadian victory.

Breaking through the Slovakian defense to get to the middle of the ice was key for Canada in starting the romp – and a good lesson for the rest of the medal round.

"That's a big thing we've talked about," said captain Porter Martone (PHI). "In these tight games, these playoff-style games, that's where you're going to score. We had some trouble earlier in the tournament, especially in that Latvia game getting to the middle, but we've figured it out. We just have to continue to buy into what Dale (Hunter) and the coaching staff are telling us, and we'll be successful."

Laser shots from Tij Iginla (UTA) and Michael Misa (SJ) prompted Slovakia to pull starting goaltender Michal Pradel (DET) in favor of Alan Lendak, but it did not make a lick of difference. Sam O'Reilly (TB) blooped one over Lendak from in close before Michael Hage (MTL), Gavin McKenna (2026 draft) and Brady Martin (NSH) connected on a gorgeous power-play goal to give Canada a 5-0 lead after one period. In those 20 minutes, only two Canadian forwards did not have a point – Braeden Cootes (VAN) and Jett Luchanko (PHI).

"It just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said of the depth scoring. "Going up 5-0 kills their confidence, so it was huge for us."

Lendak made some great saves in the second, including stops on Luchanko and Iginla.

Jack Ivankovic (NSH) had to make a great stop on Michal Svrcek (DET) midway through the frame when Svrcek grabbed a pass in tight, but the Canadian onslaught continued.

Martin put one off the crossbar, and Slovakia found themselves in a shooting gallery, outshot 28-7 midway through the game. Soon after, Martone sniped one blocker-side on a breakaway. Cole Beaudoin (UTA) then cleaned up a rebound to make it 7-0.

Jan Chovan (LA) got Slovakia on the board late in the second with a wrister through traffic, and tempers flared later on in the second when Ivankovic was run over in his crease.

With the benches emptied, the two teams jawed at each other after the second-period buzzer.

The third period was very much a formality. If anything, the fact Canada had to kill off a four-minute high-sticking penalty to Zayne Parekh (CGY) late was probably a blessing because it kept them focused as the clock began to wind down.

Overall, however, Canada managed to stay on their toes despite the lopsided score. Avoiding bad habits in a blowout can be difficult, so the team deserves full credit for not slacking in the final two periods.

"You can overpass and be too cute (in that situation), but the guys did a good job keeping it simple and keeping with the system," Coach Hunter said. "And they got rewarded for it."

World Juniors Semifinal Previews: Canada-Czechia, Sweden-Finland Set To Renew RivalriesAn action-packed day at the 2026 world juniors saw the back-to-back champs lose and Canada advance to the semifinal for the first time in three years. Here's the full preview of the semifinals.

Up next for Canada? A rematch with the Czechs, the team that has eliminated them in the past two tournaments. The Canadians won the round-robin game, and now they have a chance for some real revenge.

"They have a really good team over there," Martone said. "They're hard-working with a lot of skill so we're excited to go up against them. We have our hands full with a tough opponent in Czechia, but we're ready for the challenge."

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