Sweden beats Czechia to win first world juniors gold in 14 years

Sweden weathered a frantic last-minute comeback from Czechia to win 4-2 and take home their first world junior gold medal in 14 years on Monday.

Casper Juustovaara opened the scoring in the first period after Jack Berglund deked through Czechia’s defence shorthanded and set up Juustovaara for a tap-in from behind the net.

Victor Eklund added on with a power-play goal in the second.

Sascha Boumedienne one-timed an insurance marker less than five minutes into the third period. Berglund and Ivar Stenberg each tallied a pair of assists.

Stenberg added an empty-netter to stave off the Czech rally.

Sweden dominated puck possession and limited Czechia’s scoring chances in the first two periods, outshooting them 26 to 11.

Sweden finally managed to break through after making the semifinals in each of the last four years, including a finals loss to Team USA on their home soil in 2024.