Five OHL players win World Junior bronze with Czechia

Brantford Bulldogs defenceman Tomas Hamara scored the deciding goal with 1:41 remaining, putting Czechia ahead of Finland 6-5 in an eventual 8-5 bronze medal victory in Gothenburg, Sweden on Friday.

Czechia overcame a 2-0 deficit, and later a 5-2 deficit with six unanswered goals, four of them coming in 50 seconds to secure bronze. It follows a silver medal finish at last year’s tournament in Halifax.

Hamara finished with three points (1-2–3) in the win while Eduard Sale (Barrie Colts) recorded an assist. Jakub Vondras (Sudbury Wolves) earned the win in goal, stopping 17-of-20 shots in relief of starter Michael Hrabal.

Rasmus Kumpulainen (Oshawa Generals) provided one of Finland’s goals in the loss.

Hamara (2-5–7) and Sale (3-4–7) each finished with seven points in the tournament while Matyas Sapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit) had four (3-1–4).

The Czechs rebounded from losing two of their first three games of the tournament, defeating Switzerland and Canada before losing to Sweden in Semi-Final play. Their 8-5 win over Finland secures the countries second-ever bronze medal, the first since 2005.

OHL Players & World Junior Bronze Medalists with Czechia:
G – Jakub Vondras (Sudbury Wolves)
D – Tomas Hamara (Brantford Bulldogs)
F – Adam Zidlicky (Mississauga Steelheads)
F – Matyas Sapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit)
F – Eduard Sale (Barrie Colts)

Tomas Hamara (@BulldogsOHL) scores the deciding goal in Czechia’s 🇨🇿 thrilling comeback to win bronze at the #WorldJuniors! 🎥pic.twitter.com/Q9LJ4cWiEZ

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) January 5, 2024