Canada is the world junior champion for the second time in just under five months.
Dylan Guenther scored the golden goal in overtime as Canada survived a third-period onslaught from the Czech Republic to win 3-2 in the final Thursday night in Halifax.
Gunther also scored earlier in the game and Shane Wright scored the other goal for Canada, while Jiri Kulic and Jakub Kos provided the markers for the Czech Republic.
The tournament hosts led 2-0 midway through the third period until two quick Czech goals tied them with Canada and eventually forced the extra frame.
The two met on Boxing Day, with the Czech Republic claiming a surprise 5-2 victory. It was the first time Canada had lost its opening match of the tournament as a host.
“We remember the first game,” striker Joshua Roy said on Wednesday of the second leg, adding that he thought the Czechs were “pretty cocky” with how they celebrated.
It was the first time the two teams had met for world junior gold in the tournament’s current format, as Canada went 6-0 against the Czech Republic in the all-time medal round, reaching the final. Canada is the first team to repeat as champions since 2009, while the Czech Republic won its first medal since 2005.
Canada advanced to the final with a 6-2 win over Team USA on Wednesday night, where Roy had four points and Tomas Milic stopped 43 of 45 shots. Milich was named player of the match and called the reaction he received from the fans “the coolest moment of my hockey career”.
Canada got a big scare a round earlier when Slovakia took them to overtime, but Connor Bedard saved his team’s replay hopes with a stunning backhand winner. The projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft finished with the all-time most goals (17) and points (36) by a Canadian at the event and also holds the record for points (23) in a single tournament by a Canadian player .
The Czech Republic secured a place in the gold medal game with a thrilling 2-1 win over Sweden in the semifinals on Wednesday. The Swedes led 1-0 late in the third period, but David Jiriček tied things up with 39 seconds left, and then Jiri Kulic scored late in the extra frame to complete the turnaround.
Earlier Thursday, the United States defeated Sweden 8-7 in overtime in the bronze medal match. Luke Hughes completed his hat trick with the overtime winner to give the Americans their fourth medal in the last six tournaments.
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