Germany defeats Kazakhstan, will return for seventh straight World Juniors
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Germany kept its spot for the 2026 World Juniors with a 4-3 win over Kazakhstan in the relegation game on Thursday.
Maxim Schafer scored twice for Germany, who return for a seventh straight appearance at the World Juniors. Germany defeated Norway 5-4 in overtime in the relegation game last year.
Kazakhstan opened the scoring in the first period, but Germany tied the game at 1-1 just eight seconds later. After taking a 3-1 lead in the second period, a five-on-three power play allowed Germany to tie the game with two goals in 21 seconds.
Julius Sumpf scored the game-winner for Germany less than five minutes into the third period.
Kazakhstan performed admirably at the tournament after opening their time in Ottawa with an 8-1 loss to Sweden in their first World Juniors game since 2020 and a 14-2 loss to Czechia one day later. The team bounced back with a 5-4 overtime loss to Slovakia and missed out on a quarter-final spot with a 3-1 loss to Switzerland on Tuesday.