World Juniors rundown Day 4: Jiriceck’s between-the-legs goal lifts Czechia

ST. PAUL and MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — At the end of pregame warmups, Czechia defenseman Adam Jiricek tried shooting the puck between his legs.

“It was pretty good,” he said. “I scored pretty good. . . high on top. So, maybe I’ve practiced it before.”

But he had never pulled it off in a game – until Monday.

In overtime, Jiricek hauled in a pass from Petr Sikora while on top of the crease. The St. Louis Blues first-round draft pick moved the puck between his legs and put it into the net to give Czechia a 2-1 win over Finland.

“I’ve never scored a goal like that, this is my first time,” Jiricek said. “Adam Benák has been my teammate for many years. He’s excellent with these things, so I just watch him in practice and in games. I am not an expert like him.

“But I get a pass from the up side, and it was the move I could try, so I tried and I scored.”

Finland tied the score 1-1 on an Emil Hemming extra attacker goal with fewer than 20 seconds to go in the third period.

The crowd at Grand Casino Arena was waiting to erupt as Team USA was mounting a comeback midway through the second period of a Group A game against Slovakia on Monday night.

Ryker Lee lit the short fuse 11 minutes into the period and the majority of the 13,052 fans did their part.

Lee scored one of the more memorable U.S. goals so far in the tournament in the Americans’ 6-5 win against Slovakia. Lee gathered the puck in the left circle on a power play. The Michigan State University forward held it for a split second as Slovakian goalie Michal Pradel briefly moved off of his post, anticipating a cross-ice pass.

Instead, Lee, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound first-round draft pick of the Nashville Predators, wired a wrist shot just underneath the crossbar to the short side that was in and out before Pradel could get his head around.

Minnesota forward L.J. Mooney and North Dakota forward Will Zellers assisted on the goal.

“That’s probably the biggest goal I’ve scored,” the 19-year-old Lee said, “so that was a great deal. That’s probably the loudest cheer I’ve heard after one of my goals.

“Mooney did a great job of drawing guys and freezing guys. It opened up a lot of space for me and I just kind of threw it up there.”

Lee was one of 10 U.S. players to record a point in Monday’s game, and one of six total players to score in a roller-coaster second period that included four penalties and two short-handed goals — one by each team. The U.S. outscored Slovakia 4-2 in the period and outshot it 22-10.

“Every second of this tournament has been an absolute blast,” Lee said when asked if the back-and-forth second period was fun to play in. “That was really fun, and the whole team has been awesome to be around.”

Lee is playing in the WJC for the first time.

“Ryker was exactly where we needed him to be,” U.S. head coach Bob Motzko said. “We needed him to respond. The first night, it’s new, it’s emotional. The second night, he didn’t get as many shifts. And this, tonight, is how we saw him … he was one of our best players at summer camp. I really think it puts him in a great spot right now.”

Sascha Boumedienne has thrived on a world stage.

The Boston University sophomore defenseman had a goal and three assists in seven World Under-17 Hockey Challenge games for Team Sweden in 2024. One year later, Boumedienne had a goal and 13 assists in seven games at the World U18 Championship, finishing second in the tournament in points behind teammate Filip Ekberg.

However, in his first under-20 WJC showing, points have been harder to come by. He was left off the scoresheet and was a minus-3 in Sweden’s first two games.

Boumedienne, a first-round pick in the 2025 draft by the Winnipeg Jets, had 13 points in 40 games on the blue line for the Terriers as a freshman. It was part of his transition from a pure offensive player to a dual-threat defender.

“I wanted to make that shift,” Boumedienne said. “I want to be a guy that gets thrown over the boards at any point in the game. That’s what I feel like I’ve done. I’m going to keep working at that, the two-way game, because that’s what I want to be.”

In Sweden’s 8-1 win over Germany on Monday, Boumedienne logged his first two 2026 WJC points. He had primary assists on goals from Viggo Bjorck and Felix Ohrqvist.

“We have a good, skilled D corps,” Boumedienne said, “so whenever we can jump in, we’re happy to do it.”

Boumedienne’s second season at BU has come with more fruitful point production. He’s got a pair of goals and six points through 17 games, which is third among Terriers defensemen and trails only Cole Hutson (20 points) and Gavin McCarthy (10).

BU made it all the way to the Frozen Four a year ago, losing to Western Michigan 6-2. The Terriers currently sit in third place in the Hockey East Conference standings, four points back from UConn.

“We have a different team this year,” Boumedienne said. “It’s a new team, and it’s just a different way of playing. We have to play a little different than we did last year. It was a little bit of a rocky start. At the end, before the break here, we kind of figured out how we want to play. We just have to stick to that.”

• When Team USA’s Cole Hutson suffered his second-period injury

  against Switzerland on Saturday,

  Boston University teammate Sascha Boumedienne was in attendance at Grand Casino Arena. He said, “Scary situation. I was here watching the game and I texted him right away after. I was just waiting for a response. He said he was doing better, and that’s obviously what we’ve heard. Pucks up high any time is kind of scary. I’m glad he’s

  doing OK.”

    

• U.S. forward Max Plante, a sophomore at Minnesota Duluth, left the game after the second period with an apparent injury. Coach Bob Motzko didn’t have an update on Plante’s health immediately after Monday’s game. Motzko said he’d provide an update at Tuesday’s practice. Plante took an open ice hit from Slovakia’s Alex Misiak late in the second period. Plante went down the tunnel briefly, then returned to play another shift. He went to the locker room with the U.S. team after the second period and didn’t return to the bench for the third. 
• Forward Will Zellers, the last player added to the pre-tournament camp roster, now has all three game-winning goals for the U.S. Forward James Hages said, “Give him the puck. He’s got the hot stick right now. He’s got a great shot, so to be able to see him put the puck in the back of the net is really good.” 
• Sweden’s Wilson Bjorck, a freshman forward at Colorado College, is playing in the WJC for the first time. He said playing in the physical and skilled NCHC has helped him become a better all-around player. “At Colorado College, NCAA hockey, it’s (going against) bigger, stronger guys. That’s what has helped me find my game even more.” Bjorck has five goals and eight points for C.C. through 15 games.
• No team has more power-play goals than Sweden through four days. Sweden is 6-for-14, good for 42.9% as the second-best mark in the tournament. Finland boasts the top power-play percentage at 60% (3-for-5) through two games. Boumedienne said of his Swedish teammates, “They move the puck really well. It’s an attack mentality. They’re unselfish out there.” Chicago Blackhawks third-overall pick Anton Frondell has scored all three of his WJC goals on the man-advantage from the right flank. 
• With the addition of Seattle Kraken second-rounder Julius Miettinen to the lineup, Finland has moved 2026 NHL Draft prospect Oliver Suvanto to the fourth line. Suvanto started the tournament on the top line between Matias Vanhanen and Emil Hemming, whose brother, Oscar Hemming, made his college debut for Boston College on Sunday night.
• Czech defenseman Radim Mrtka, the No. 9 overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres, played in his first World Junior game this year Monday. Mrtka had been battling an injury. “I love to play for the national team,” Mrtka said, “so it’s been a pleasure. I’m grateful that we won the game. Mrtka declined to reveal the exact nature of his injury. “It’s not 100% healthy,” he said. “But it’s fine. I can play with it.”

Full tournament coverage

Click on the image above to read comprehensive coverage of the 2026 World Junior Championship tournament.

Click on image to read comprehensive coverage of the 2026 World Junior Championship tournament.