Czechia and Sweden finished as winners across both U18 and U20 play on Thursday’s international slate. Czechia erased a 0–2 deficit to beat Finland 5–2 at the U20 level, while Sweden rolled past host nation Slovakia 9–3 behind a hat trick from Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell. At the U18 level, Czechia also defeated Finland, while Sweden earned their second straight win on home ice.

U20 Five Nations

Czechia U20 5-2 Finland U20
Czechia came out victorious in their opening game at the U20 Five Nations in Piešťany, Slovakia. Despite Finland holding a 2–0 lead heading into the third period, Czechia stormed back and won 5–2. This Czech age group is a strong one and they showed it in the Thursday night opener.

2nd 05:08 0–1 Finland, Kopiloff O. (Pietila B., Loponen M.)
2nd 14:45 0–2 Finland, Loponen M. (Kopiloff O., Pietila B.)

3rd 07:33 1–2 Czechia, Chludil D. (Lisler O., Blanar V.) PP
3rd 08:17 2–2 Czechia, Lev J. (Prusek P., Frolo J.)
3rd 12:25 3–2 Czechia, Tomek P. (Jung S., Svec M.)
3rd 19:05 4–2 Czechia, Sikora P. (Jung S., Kubiesa M.) EN
3rd 19:10 5–2 Czechia, Svec M. (Zemlicka R.) EN

Sweden U20 9-3 Slovakia U20
Sweden picked up their second straight win at the U20 Five Nations, defeating Slovakia 9–3. After an even opening period, Sweden broke the game open in the second, jumping out to a 6–2 lead.

Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell was a major factor for Sweden. He scored the key goals to make it 2–1 and 3–1, then added another later in the game to complete the hat trick and extend Sweden’s lead to 8–2.

1st 02:53 0–1 Sweden, Pettersson L. (Ohrqvist F., Gustafsson V.)
1st 07:58 1–1 Slovakia, Dubravik J. (Svrcek M., Chrenko T.) PP
1st 13:14 1–2 Sweden, Frondell A. (Freij A., Stenberg I.) PP

2nd 00:39 1–3 Sweden, Frondell A. (Pettersson L., Eklund V.)
2nd 03:26 1–4 Sweden, Danielsson L. (Berglund J., Bjorck V.)
2nd 10:42 1–5 Sweden, Bjorck V. (Stenberg I.)
2nd 12:37 2–5 Slovakia, Balaz D. (Maruna O., Goljer A.)
2nd 16:01 2–6 Sweden, Sterner K. (Gastrin M.)

3rd 03:05 2–7 Sweden, Bjorck V. (Danielsson L., Johansson V.) PP
3rd 13:04 2–8 Sweden, Frondell A. (Stenberg I., Pettersson L.)
3rd 15:21 2–9 Sweden, Berglund J. SH EN
3rd 17:06 3–9 Slovakia, Zalesak A.

Czech Icon, National Team Captain Receives Contract Extension Czech veteran Roman Červenka defies age, signing through 2028. His elite scoring and leadership ensure continued national team impact.

U18 Five Nations

Finland U18 2-5 Czechia U18
After an opening loss at the Five Nations on Wednesday, Czechia bounced back with a win over Finland. Helped by a goal from 2027 NHL Draft-eligible forward Matěj Tománek, Czechia pulled ahead 3–2 with just four minutes left in regulation. Tománek then sealed the game with an empty-netter to make it 5–2, which stood as the final score.

1st 17:24 1–0 Finland, Uronen E. (Kähkönen V.)

2nd 20:31 1–1 Czechia, Fodor J. (Novak F.) PP
2nd 31:33 1–2 Czechia, Zmrhal D. (Rehak R.)
2nd 33:35 2–2 Finland, Arkko L. (Juntunen O., Vanhatalo V.) PP

3rd 55:56 2–3 Czechia, Tomanek M.
3rd 58:14 2–4 Czechia, Ripa D. (Sebesta M.) EN
3rd 59:07 2–5 Czechia, Tomanek M. (Hora V.) EN

Switzerland U18 1-4 Sweden U18
It was another successful outing for Sweden at the U18 Five Nations, as they handled Switzerland 4–1 to make it two straight wins. It was not the same smooth ride as the opener against Czechia, and Sweden had to work to get in front. Hard-working forward Ludvig Andersson opened the scoring midway through the first period, and Sweden added another in the second before closing out the game 4–1.

1st 09:07 0–1 Sweden, Andersson L. (Andersson A.)

2nd 09:09  0–2 Sweden, Isaksson M. (Elofsson A., Hermansson E.)
2nd 11:53 1–2 Switzerland, Fuhrer L. (Daron J., Keller G.) PP

3rd 01:45 1–3 Sweden, Palme O. (Hermansson E., Nordmark M.)
3rd 13:33 1–4 Sweden, Nordmark M. (Bartholdsson N., Knights T.)

Theodor Knights: Hlinka Lessons and Five Nations Mindset The Hockey News’ Jacob Smeds speaks with 2026 NHL Draft prospect Theodor Knights. After starring for Team Sweden at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he now prepares for next week’s U18 Five Nations Tournament.