Photo Courtesy: Hockey Canada
HALIFAX – Dylan Guenther scored his second goal of the night at 6:22 of overtime as Canada survived a blown 2-0 lead in the third period to defeat Czechia 3-2 in the final of the world junior hockey championship Thursday.
The Arizona Coyotes forward took a pass from Joshua Roy on a 2-on-1 to give his country its title at the men’s under-20 event.
Shane Wright, on his 19th birthday, had the other goal for Canada. Thomas Milic made 24 saves. Connor Bedard was named tournament MVP.
Canada is the first team to repeat since the country won five straight gold medals between 2005 and 2009 after Bedard and seven other returnees also topped the pandemic-delayed summer showcase in Edmonton.
Jiri Kulich and Jakub Kos replied for Czechia. Tomas Suchanek stopped 35 shots.
The Czechs beat a disjointed Canada for the first time in 3,285 days when they picked up what was at the time a stunning 5-2 victory on Dec. 26, and appeared in the final for the first time since their only gold-medal triumphs in 2000 and 2001.
The Canadian Press
