Canada's Porter Martone (22) scores on Slovakia goaltender Alan Lendak (30) during second period IIHF World Junior Championship quarterfinal hockey action, in Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday, January 2, 2026. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov)

By Britton Gray - CKOM News

World Juniors

Canada defeats Slovakia, sets up showdown with Czechia at World Juniors

Jan 3, 2026 | 9:53 AM

Team Canada’s offensive firepower was on showcase in a quarterfinals win over Slovakia at the 2026 World Juniors Hockey Championship.

Canada recorded five goals in the first period to power it to a 7-1 win at the U20 World Hockey Championships.

It was the first time Canada had advanced to the semifinals since 2023 after back-to-back losses to Czechia in the quarterfinals.

Macklin, Sask., product Cole Reschny opened the scoring for Canada with just over six minutes left in the opening frame. That opened the floodgates as the Canadians poured it on for the remainder of the frame.

Tij Iginla scored under a minute after Reschny and then Michael Misa scored on the powerplay shortly after that. That led to Slovakia making a change at goal, pulling Michal Pradel and putting Alan Lendak in net.

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But that wouldn’t do much to help Slovakia as Sam O’Reilly added another goal with Brady Martin also scoring in the opening period.

In the second period, Canada added more to their lead with Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin potting the puck into the back of the Slovakian net.

Jan Chovan got Slovakia onto the board in the game to break the shutout attempt.

No goals were scored in the third period. Canadian goaltender Jack Ivankovic stopped 21 shots in the contest.

Canada is looking to earn another gold medal for the country. Canadians have won the tournament the most times, with 20 previous wins.

The semifinal game between Canada and Czechia will take place on Sunday, with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m.

The bronze and gold medal games will take place on Monday.