Czechia and Finland play for bronze at World Juniors on TSN
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Czechia and Finland try to make sure they don't leave Sweden empty handed as they play for bronze on Friday at the World Juniors.
The Czechs enter the bronze-medal game after suffering a 5-2 defeat to Sweden during Thursday's semifinals.
Forward Matyas Melovsky and defenceman Tomas Cibulka registered goals for Czechia as they entered the third period tied 2-2.
However, Sweden scored three unanswered goals in the final frame to take the win.
Goaltender Michael Hrabal made 26 of 31 stops in the loss. The Arizona Coyotes prospect has three wins with an .887 save percentage and 3.14 goals-against average in the tournament so far.
Buffalo Sabres draft pick Jiri Kulich leads the team in scoring with four goals and eight points while Melovsky has a goal and eight points.
Czechia finished in third place in Group B with a 2-0-1-1 record and defeated Canada 3-2 in the quarter-finals.
The Czechs won silver in last year's edition of the World Juniors in Halifax and are looking for back-to-back medals for the first time since they won consecutive gold meals in 2000 and 2001.
Finland enters the bronze-medal game after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the United States in Thursday's semifinals.
The Finns jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period thanks to early goals from Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Oiva Keskinen and Minnesota Wild draft pick Rasmus Kumpulainen.
USA stormed back in the second period with two unanswered goals from Jimmy Snuggerud and Will Smith to tie the game.
The game stayed even until late in the third period when Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier scored on the power play to give the United States a lead they would never relinquish.
Niklas Kokko took the loss after stopping 27 of 30 shots. The Seattle Kraken prospect has one win with an .889 save percentage and 3.31 GAA in the tournament so far.
Captain Jere Lassila leads Finland in scoring during the tournament with three goals and seven points while forward Kasper Halttunen has three goals and six points.
Finland finished third in Group A with a 1-1-0-2 record and defeated Slovakia 3-2 in overtime during the quarter-finals.
The Finns last received a medal at the World Juniors when they won silver at the 2022 tournament in Edmonton and are trying for their fourth medal in six years