2025 World Juniors: Top standouts as USA beats Czechia to advance to final
OTTAWA – The United States has clinched a spot in the 2025 World Junior Championship final after beating Czechia 4-1 in the second semifinal on Saturday.
USA is looking to win consecutive gold for the first time ever with this being just the first time they’ve made it back to the final after winning the championship. Czechia, meanwhile, will look to win a medal for the third straight year after snagging silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024.
The Americans opened the scoring just three minutes in. Shortly after leaving the penalty box, Ryan Leonard beat Jakub Dvorak in a 1-on-1 situation before getting the puck in front to Gabe Perreault. Perreault made no mistake, beating Michael Hrabal to make it 1-0.
But six minutes later, Jakub Stancl answered back, beating Trey Augustine with a glove-side wrister to make it 1-1. That score remained until 33:41, when Cole Eiserman – USA’s 13th forward – blasted in a one-timer from Trevor Connelly to make it a 2-1 hockey game. A goal from Leonard with about five minutes left sunk the Czechs, with Oliver Moore capping it off with 1:07 left.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Saturday’s second semifinal:
Czechia
#21 Jakub Stancl, RW (St. Louis Blues): Stancl is sitting at six goals through six games after another excellent release. That is goals in back to back games after going pointless in the two before that. I love his shot and the way he commands the puck in the offensive zone.
#30 Michael Hrabal, G (Utah HC): It wasn’t the busiest game for Hrabal, but he was forced to make some quality saves. The breakaway stop on Leonard was very important in keeping the game tied early in the second, and he made an excellent stretch save about five minutes into the third to keep it a 2-1 game. I have been critical of Hrabal’s play in recent years because we’ve seen him absolutely fall apart but I do think he’s a big reason why the Czechs are this far in the first place.
USA
#28 Zeev Buium, D (Minnesota Wild): Buium played all situations for USA. But more importantly, he did an excellent job of shutting opponents down at the blueline and preventing any high-danger opportunities. He hasn’t exploded offensively, but he’s been fantastic at keeping opponents to the outside on the rush. You know, like a defenseman should do.
#9 Ryan Leonard, RW (Washington Capitals): Leonard was everywhere early in this one. He took a penalty for shoving a Czech player in front of the net, but made up for it with a beautiful assist after beating Dvorak in a 1-on-1 play. He then squeaked past the Czech defenders to create a breakaway chance, only to get stopped by Hrabal. His goal late in the game sunk the Czechs. As always, I loved how physically involved Leonard was all game long.
#34 Gabe Perreault, LW (New York Rangers): With a goal and an assist, Perreault was outstanding again. The obvious built-in chemistry with Boston College linemates Leonard and James Hagens helps, but Perreault is so smart at getting the puck where it needs to be. I like how he often draws opponents to the perimeter before setting up one of his linemates in the slot. It seems to have worked quite often in Ottawa
#1 Trey Augustine, G (Detroit Red Wings): Augustine probably wants Stancl’s goal back, but he was excellent the rest of the way as the Czechs kept the pressure up. His biggest save was a diving right pad stop midway through the period – a game-saving stop, no doubt. Augustine has proven time after time that he can rise to the occasion when the games start to matter more, and the extra rest after not playing since Jan. 1 might have helped him stay rested and relaxed today.
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