Czechia, Sweden deadlocked after first in battle for bronze at World Juniors
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Czechia and Sweden are deadlocked 1-1 after the first period as the two countries battle for the bronze medal at the World Juniors on Sunday.
The Czechs opened the scoring on the power play less than four minutes into the game when Jakub Stancl's one-timer beat Swedish netminder Marcus Gidlof to give his team the lead.
The goal was the St. Louis Blues prospect's tournament-leading seventh goal to go with his 10 points.
Sweden tied the game on the power play with seven and a half minutes remaining when David Edstrom put a rebound past Czech goalie Michael Hrabal with Jiri Felcman in the box for charging.
Edstrom, a Nashville Predators prospect, has three goals and five points in the tournament.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka picked up an assist on the goal which gives him four goals and 10 points for the tournament lead.
Czechia went 1-for-1 on the man advantage while Sweden went 1-for-3 on the power play.
Sweden outshot Czechia 9-5 after the first frame.
Czechia ended up in the bronze-medal game after falling to the United States 4-1 during Saturday's semifinal while Sweden suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss to Finland in the other semifinal.
Sweden is looking for medals in back-to-back years after winning silver at the World Juniors at home last year.
After 17 years without a medal, Czechia is looking for a medal in their third consecutive year, winning bronze last season and silver in 2023.