Sale and Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues) scored in the second period for Czechia, which won a medal at the World Juniors for the third straight year for the first time. It won the bronze medal at the 2024 WJC and the silver medal at the 2023 WJC. Michal Hrabal made 32 saves.

The United States is on a quest to win the World Juniors title in back-to-back years for the first time in the country’s history. Despite losing to Finland in the group stage, their loaded offense, powered by Ryan Leonard and James Hagens, helped them win Group A and ran away with a 7-2 win over Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Team USA’s roster features six Boston College men’s hockey players, forwards Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault, James Hagens, and Teddy Stiga as well as defensemen Drew Fortescue and Aram Minnetian. This will be the third meeting between the two programs in this year’s tournament.