Canada thumps Slovakia 7-1 at world juniors to book semifinal date with Czechia

MINNEAPOLIS – Cole Reschny tuned into the world junior hockey championship with his family growing up.

The Canadian forward got the ball rolling in a must-win game Friday — and his country never looked back.

Reschny sparked a five-goal barrage in the first period to lead a 7-1 drubbing of Slovakia in the quarterfinals of the men’s under-20 showcase. 

“For as long as I can remember (it was) me, my brothers, my dad at home at Christmas watching this tournament,” said the Calgary Flames prospect. “It’s so special. It’s crazy to think that it’s my age group already, my year.”

Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly, Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin each had a goal and an assist for the Canadians, while Tij Iginla and Brady Martin also scored. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves. Zayne Parehk and Keaton Verhoeff added two assists apiece. 

“Any time you come out in an elimination game and set the tone like that, that was big for our group,” Martone said. “Talked in the room we wanted a big start, and that’s we got.”

Jan Chovan replied for the overmatched Slovaks, who talked openly about upsetting Canada ahead of puck drop.

“It was definitely floating around,” Martin said when asked if that chatter made it into the locker room. “Definitely heard some of the comments. We just took it and beat it down.”

Michal Pradel allowed three goals on 11 shots before getting pulled. Alan Lendak finished with 27 stops in relief.

“Just goes to show how powerful we are,” Martin said. “Going up 5-0, it kind of kills their confidence.” 

Canada will meet Czechia, the country that crushed its dreams in the quarters the last two years, on semifinal Sunday in nearby St. Paul, Minn. Sweden has a date with rivals Finland, which bounced the two-time defending champion United States in overtime, in the other matchup for a spot in Monday’s championship game. 

The Canadians, who defeated the Czechs 7-5 in a dicey Boxing Day opener that featured a missed handshake line by the North Americans, won a knockout-round contest for the first time since capturing a record 20th gold medal in 2023 — a victory that was followed by two disastrous quarterfinal exits, including 12 months ago in Ottawa. 

“It’s gold medal or nothing,” said Martone, the team’s captain and one of six returnees looking for revenge. “I’m really excited, that group is really excited. We’ve got our hands full. We’re gonna have a tough opponent in Czechia, but we’re ready for the challenge.” 

Canada, which needed a spine-tingling OT winner from Connor Bedard and goaltending heroics from Thomas Milic to beat Slovakia 4-3 in the quarters in Halifax three years ago on the way to its last podium-topping finish, pressed the gas pedal after a hard-hitting start. 

Reschny, the 18th pick at the 2025 NHL draft, buried a rebound to get things going at 13:58 and Iginla snapped a shot Pradel could only wave at 44 seconds later.

Misa then wheeled into the slot and ripped a shot home through a screen at 16:11 to end the Slovak starter’s night at 3M Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

“I love these guys,” Misa said of his teammates. “We’ve got a special group.”

O’Reilly shovelled a loose puck past Lendak on the first attempt he faced at 17:03 before Martin finished off a beautiful passing play on a man advantage in the period’s dying seconds as Canada, which topped Group B with 11 of a possible 12 points in the preliminary round, scored five times in five minutes 49 seconds of action.

“I was watching that kind of like a fan there,” Ivankovic said. “That power-play goal was pretty sick.”

Ivankovic got the call in net ahead of Carter George, who had the worst save percentage among qualifying goaltenders with an .884 mark in his three victories entering Friday. Ivankovic started for just the third time at the world juniors after getting the crease against Latvia on Dec. 27 and last year in Ottawa. 

Canada, which entered with 16 victories and a tie versus the Slovaks all-time at the world juniors with a 90-20 combined score, made it 6-0 at 9:31 of the second when Martone fired off the rush and Beaudoin added the team’s seventh 1:10 later. 

Chovan spoiled Ivankovic’s shutout bid at 16:50 before there was some chippiness at the end of the period with the game well in hand for the Canadians before the teams played a clean third. 

“To be here is unreal,” Reschny said. “It’s been a blast.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2026.