Tom Willander and his Swedish team were defeated by Czechia in the longest shootout in World Junior history after a thrilling bronze medal game.
Vancouver Canucks prospect Tom Willander just missed out on a medal at the 2025 World Junior Championship. After going undefeated in the preliminary round, Willander's Swedish squad was one goal away from the gold medal game, but lost to Finland in overtime following a questionable penalty call on Willander. Facing Czechia in the bronze medal game, Sweden again failed to win in regulation, forcing a full ten-minute overtime period at 3-on-3 before a shootout.
The shootout went an incredible 14 rounds and 28 attempts, the longest in World Junior history. It was a goaltending duel, as Sweden's Marcus Gidlof and Czechia's Michael Hrabal made save after save, allowing just five goals combined on the 28 attempts. After both teams' second shooters scored, the goaltenders stopped the next 20 attempts, with Gidlof getting some help from the goalposts. Sweden's Otto Stenberg finally broke the deadlock in the 13th round with a five-hole goal, only for Czechia captain Eduard Sale to equalize with a five-hole goal of his own. Sale had already attempted four times in the shootout, as tournament rules allow shooters to repeat after the fifth round. Stenberg went again in the 15th round and beat Hrabal, but hit the post, leading Hrabal to literally drop to his knees and kiss his post. That fortunate bounce gave Czechia the chance to win, and Sale stepped up for his fifth attempt, beating Gidlof with a deke to the backhand. It was a disappointing end for Willander, who led Sweden in ice time once again, playing 28:06 in the bronze-medal game. He averaged a team-high 24:21 per game in ice time and tallied 5 points in 7 games, while finishing second on his team in shots on goal with 27
WORLD JUNIORS HOCKEY SWEDEN CZECHIA TOMWILLANDER
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