Finland and Czechia earned wins at both the U18 and U20 Five Nations on Thursday. Winnipeg Jets prospect Markus Loponen delivered two goals for Finland, while Washington Capitals sixth-round pick in 2024 Petr Sikora put up two goals and two assists for Czechia. Read more about today’s international action below.

U20 Five Nations

Sweden U20 1-5 Finland U20
Finland bounced back after collapsing in the third period against Czechia yesterday. The scoring began just over five minutes in when Winnipeg Jets prospect Markus Loponen came down the left side and beat Love Härenstam in the Swedish net. Finland struck again one minute later and from there the game quickly slipped away. Sweden managed to cut the deficit to 2–1 before the end of the first period, but the Finns took control again and pulled away. Loponen capped things off with his second goal of the afternoon to seal a 5–1 win.

1st 05:34 0–1 Finland, Loponen M. (Somervuori J., Jokinen M.)
1st 06:50 0–2 Finland, Saarelainen J. (Tuuva L., Boelius L.)
1st 14:53 1–2 Sweden, Fernstrom M. PP

2nd 09:16 1–3 Finland, Westergard M. (Jokinen M.)
2nd 17:36 1–4 Finland, Joki A. (Kopiloff O.) PP

3rd 09:24 1–5 Finland, Loponen M. (Nieminen D., Boelius L.)

Switzerland U20 1–5 Czechia U20
Washington Capitals 2024 sixth-round pick Petr Sikora had an impressive Friday night, recording two goals and two assists for Czechia. Both goals came in the first period, helping Czechia take early control of the game. They continued to pull away from there and secured a 5–1 win over Switzerland.

1st 00:38 0–1 Czechia, Sikora P. (Zielinski A.)
1st 11:03 0–2 Czechia, Sikora P. (Svec M., Cihar V.) PP

2nd 02:06 0–3 Czechia, Zemlicka R. (Tomek P., Jung S.)
2nd 16:40 1–3 Switzerland, Cattin N. (Meier G., Blessing N.)

3rd 07:41 1–4 Czechia, Zielinski A. (Sikora P., Prusek P.)
3rd 17:24 1–5 Czechia, Cihar V. (Kubiesa M., Sikora P.)

U18 Five Nations

Czechia U18 3-2 Switzerland U18
Czechia earned their second straight win at the U18 Five Nations, once again powered by a strong third period. They entered the final frame down 2–1, but needed just 59 seconds for Matěj Tománek to tie the game, tapping in a rebound at the back post after a shot from René Řehák.

The game ended in dramatic fashion. With just two seconds left, Řehák scored the winner to make it 3–2, finishing off a late counterattack by burying a rebound after the Swiss netminder made the initial save.

2nd 11:28 0–1 Switzerland, Reist N. (Fueter S., Mukuna L.)
2nd 13:01 1–1 Czechia, Tomanek M. (Novak F.) PP
2nd 17:00 1–2 Switzerland, Schürmann P. (Moser P., Münger T.)

3rd 00:59 2–2 Czechia, Tomanek M. (Rehak R.) PP
3rd 19:58 3–2 Czechia, Rehak R. (Tomanek M.)

USA U18 2-4 Finland U18
Finland picked up wins at both the U18 and U20 levels on Friday. At the U18 Five Nations, they defeated the United States. After entering the second intermission tied 2–2, Noel Pakarinen scored the go-ahead goal on the power play to make it 3–2. Anttoni Uronen sealed the result late with an empty-netter for a 4–2 final.

1st 03:40 0–1 Finland, Kähkönen V. (Vanhatalo V., Juntunen O.)
1st 15:22 0–2 Finland, Vuori A. (Laitinen J., Laatikainen M.)
1st 15:47 1–2 USA, Mutryn C. (Nelson S., Trottier P.)
1st 19:15 2–2 USA, Berchild M. (Trottier P.)

2nd 33:40 2–3 Finland, Parkarinen N. (Kähkönen V., Vuori A.) PP

3rd 58:14 2–4 Finland, Uronen A. (Uronen E.) EN

Czechia and Sweden Win at the U18 and U20 Five Nations on Thursday The Hockey News International recaps Thursday’s U18 and U20 Five Nations action as Czechia and Sweden earn wins, highlighted by a hat trick from Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell.