Canada holds off Czechs in wild opener of men’s junior hockey worlds

Ethan MacKenzie scored the game-winning goal in the third period as Canada opened the world junior hockey championship with a nervy 7-5 victory over the Czech Republic on Friday.

Zayne Parekh added two goals for Canada. Michael Hage and MacKenzie, with a goal and two assists each, Brady Martin, with a goal and an assist, and Porter Martone, into the empty net, provided the rest of the offence.

Gavin McKenna — one of six returnees from last year's team and the potential No. 1 pick at the 2026 NHL draft — had two assists. Cole Beaudoin also had two assists. Carter George made 28 saves.

Tomas Poletin, with two goals, Vojtech Cihar, with a goal and two assists, Petr Sikora, with a goal and an assist, and Tomas Galvas replied for the Czechs, who got 20 stops from Michal Orsulak. Vaclav Nestrasil had three assists and Adam Benak chipped in two.

Looking for its record 21st gold medal at the men's under-20 event, Canada is aiming to rebound from a pair of disastrous showings the last two years.

The country saw its world junior dreams dashed by underdogs Czechs in consecutive quarterfinals — at the 2024 event in Sweden and 12 months ago on home soil in Ottawa. The Czechs went on to finish third at both tournaments.

One group of fans held up a sign that read "Make Canada Great Again" along the glass in the country's end during warm-ups.

Sporting their white jerseys with a red Maple Leaf, the Canadians got a power play with the score tied 3-3 early in the third. Parekh collected a deflected McKenna pass in the high slot with his glove and then snapped his second of the night at 3:49.

Poletin got the Czechs back level at 5:21 with Canada a complete mess in the defensive zone.

But Tij Iginla, the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome