Canada crushes Slovakia to set up semifinal clash with Czechia

Canada used a five-goal first period to cruise to a 7-1 victory over Slovakia in Friday's quarterfinal matchup at the 2026 World Junior Championship.

With the emphatic win, Canada advances to a semifinal showdown with Czechia on Sunday. Czechia eliminated Canada in each of the past two years, but Canada earned a 7-5 victory when the two countries clashed on Boxing Day.

Sweden and Finland play in the other semifinal after defeating Latvia and the United States, respectively, earlier Friday.

Canada's five-goal outburst came in under six minutes to close out the opening frame. Cole Reschny scored the icebreaker, followed by tallies from Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O'Reilly, and Brady Martin.

Six Canadian skaters produced multi-point games, while goaltender Jack Ivankovic stopped 12 of 13 shots faced.