After trailing nearly the entire game, the Czechs surprised Finland in the final frame to win a medal for a second straight year. Ryan Kennedy recaps the game from Gothenburg.

GOTHENBURG, SWE - What started off as a disaster ended in triumph for Czechia at the 2024 world juniors. 

After falling behind Finland early and trailing nearly the entire game, the Czechs ended up with an 8-5 win to clinch the bronze medal, following up on last year's silver in Halifax.

While expectations should have been high for the Czechs in this tournament (I always saw them as a medal contender), the path was not easy, especially after losing to the host Swedes in the semifinal. And this game appeared to be going down the same trajectory - until the Czechs changed the narrative.

Finland, clearly drawing inspiration from the same scouting reports as Sweden, victimized starter Michael Hrabal (ARI) and his glove hand for two goals on three shots, prompting Czech coach Patrik Augusta to pull him in favor of Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Jakub Vondras. That worked for a while, and the Czechs even tied the game in the second period - until Konsta Helenius (2024 draft) gave his team the lead back less than a minute later.

Another quick strike by Lenni Hameenaho (NJ) just seconds after that seemed to put the Finns in the clear, but the Czechs would not go away. Jiri Kulich (BUF) and his deadly one-timer struck for a second time early in the third to cut Finland's lead to 5-4, setting up an intense final stretch.

The Czechs pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with more than two minutes remaining and tied up proceedings thanks to Ondrej Becher, who banged in a rebound off of - you guessed it - a Kulich one-timer.

Just seconds later, Tomas Hamara (OTT) gave the Czechs their first lead of the game off a point shot that somehow eluded netminder Niklas Kokko (SEA). 

This time, it was Finland's turn to pull their goalie, but with disastrous consequences. Dominik Rymon stripped Arttu Karki (VGK) of the puck right near the yawning cage, then neatly tucked it in to give the Czechs a 7-5 lead with a little over a minute to go. Another empty-netter came directly off the next faceoff to salt things away, courtesy of Becher.

It was a stunning finish to the bronze, but in a game played by teenagers, we've come to expect the unexpected. And now the Czechs celebrate a medal for the second straight year - something they hadn't done since back-to-back golds in 2000-01.