Canada dominated Slovakia 7–1 in the World Juniors quarterfinals, advancing to the semifinals.
The U.S. was eliminated by Finland in a 4–3 loss, ending the defending champions’ run and fueling fan reactions online.
Canada now faces Czechia in the semifinals, in a highly anticipated rematch.
It was an action-packed day for World Juniors on Friday, with five quarterfinal elimination games taking place.
Team Canada now has a chance at a medal at this year’s World Juniors after it dominated Slovakia 7-1, each goal coming from a different skater. They now face Czechia for the second time this season.
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Finland and Sweden are the two other teams that made it to the semi-finals. Defending champions two years in a row, Team U.S.A., was eliminated, falling to Finland 3-4. Given the geographical closeness, the U.S. and Canada have long-maintained a heated rivalry in the league.
“I was just happy to see the Americans getting eliminated thanks to the Fins – thank you Finland!” one Reddit user wrote.
“As an American-Canadian, I’m kinda sad that team USA is out of the World Junior but [that] just means Canada has a chance to win gold this year unlike last year,” one X user wrote.
Canada’s dominating final score of 7-1 Friday night had fans relieved and unsurprised.
I’ve never met a 7-1 win in the quarters I didn’t love.
The biggest thing from that game was that Michael Misa looked outstanding. If he’s finding his groove… lookout.
Canada/Czechia in the semis will be awesome. Can’t wait!
— Connor Hrabchak (@ConnorHrabchak1) January 3, 2026
“Least stressful Canada elimination game for quite some time,” one Reddit user wrote.
“I can’t believe I was nervous for this game lol,” another wrote.
Ahead of the semifinals tomorrow, fans are determined for a win. Czechia had swept away Canada’s shot at a medal the past two years, bouncing Team Canada out in the quarterfinals.
“Aside from the traditional U.S.-Canada one, the current Czechia-Canada rivalry is fire af,” one X user wrote.
“Alright, time to start thinking ahead to the Czechs. We need some serious revenge for the last two years,” a Reddit user wrote.
“Sweden vs Finland and Canada vs Czechia semis this is gonna be so fun,” an X user wrote.
Canada faces Czechia on Jan. 4 at 8:30 p.m. EST.
Medal games take place on Jan. 5, 4:30 p.m. EST for Bronze and 8:30 p.m. EST for Gold.