The matchup between Czechia and the USA to close out the opening day of Group B in Bratislava at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Men’s World Championship was a highly anticipated one, and it more than lived up to its billing. Czechia won a thrilling contest 3-2 over the USA, with Dominik Ripa scoring the winning goal on a great solo effort in the dying seconds of the extra period.
“We played like a team where everybody knew that we were going to win tonight,” said defenceman Jakub Vanecek. “That was an amazing game.”
“That wasn’t our best, obviously, but it was a pretty competitive game and we got a point out of it, so there’s a little bit to be happy about,” said U.S. forward Wyatt Cullen. “I think it’s good to have (a game like that) early to get us ready for the bigger games. We’ve definitely got to do a few things better but we’ll clean some things up over the next few days.”
The shots on goal through almost 65 minutes of hockey were even at 27 apiece. Goaltenders Marek Sklenicka and Brady Knowling were chosen as their respective teams' best players of the game, with Sklenicka making one more save.
Cheered on by a partisan crowd of 2,200 in Bratislava that included travelling Czechs and local Slovaks, Czechia had some jump to start the game. Despite some chances each way, the first period ended scoreless, with each team landing six shots on net. Both teams also had three power plays, and the Czechs had a two-man advantage for 1:01 that they weren’t able to generate much on.
“It was incredible!” Ripa said of the atmosphere in the arena. “Our fans really kept us going. You could really hear them even when I was going to the net alone in overtime. It gave me chills.”
The Czechs opened the scoring in the 24th minute. After breaking into the U.S. zone 3-on-2, they looked like they’d squandered their chance when Jiri Kamas’ weak shot went wide. However, it caromed off the end boards and, with Knowling sliding the wrong way, managed to poke it home.
The Americans then tied it and took the lead with two goals 1:05 apart. The first goal came off the rush at 27:12, with Luke Zajic taking the pass from Brooks Rogowski on his backhand, then chipping it past Sklenicka on his forehand.
Cullen scored the go-ahead marker, also off the rush. His shot from the right wing hit the stick of Vanecek and fluttered past Sklenicka.
“I just tried to sell a pass there and to open up a bit of space to get a shot, and got a little lucky,” Cullen described. “I’ll take it, but I think we played pretty well in the second after a tough start. We had a lot of good shifts that period, but I think we just ran out of gas a bit in the third.
The Americans threatened to increase their lead several times in the middle frame, but Sklenicka was sharp, giving his team a chance heading into the final 20 minutes.
Following a pattern, the Czechs again had a fast start to the third period and tied the score with 16:25 remaining in regulation time. Applying pressure in the U.S. zone, David Huk’s shot hit a body in front and landed loose in the crease, where Vojtech Hora was able to get his stick on the puck and put it in.
The teams traded chances over the remainder of the period. With less than two minutes left in regulation time, the Czechs won an attacking zone faceoff and Petr Tomek rang a shot off the goalpost, causing the fans to gasp.
The back-and-forth play only intensified in 3-on-3 overtime, as Sklenicka denied Logan Stuart from point-blank range and Knowling had to be sharp to handle a drive from Ripa, but the Czech shooter would get the last laugh. The game appeared headed for a shootout when Ripa jumped on a loose puck in the neutral zone, made a brilliant move to beat U.S. backchecker Brady Stuart and went in on Knowling, tucking it between the goalie’s pads to finish it with 11.5 seconds on the clock.
“I took the puck at the blueline and I thought the American player would step out against me, and then I just wanted to shoot between the legs and somehow it worked out.” Ripa described.
The Czechs don’t have much time to savour this win as they have another tough game on Thursday against Sweden. As for the USA, they have a day off before facing Denmark on Friday.
