Trencin, Slovakia- A sellout crowd of more than 6,000 fans cheered Slovakia on to a 2-1 win over Canada on opening day at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship.
The host team’s hard-fought victory marked the second of a pair of major upsets on day one, with Czechia also downing the United States 3-2 in overtime.
Slovak hockey greats Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa, a WHL and Memorial Cup Champion who reigns as one of the Portland Winterhawks’ top players of all time, were on hand to congratulate each country’s Player of the Game, goaltender Denis Celko and forward Tynan Lawrence.
The Slovaks took advantage of home ice by jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the second period, but Vancouver Giants star Mathis Preston (Penticton, B.C. / Vancouver Giants) levelled the match with a powerplay one-timer off a backdoor feed from Adam Valentini.
Preston is ranked 32nd among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and logged 44 points (18G-26A) in a shortened campaign with the G-Men and Spokane Chiefs.
Top 2027 NHL Draft-eligible goaltender Carter Esler (Okotoks, Alta. / Spokane Chiefs) came on in relief in the third period after starter Gavin Betts (Kingston Frontenacs / OHL) went down with a lower-body injury early in the frame.
The WHL Humanitarian of the Year finalist stopped two shots in the home stretch and was only solved by a penalty shot from Timothy Kazda.
Canada (0-1-0) returns to the ice to battle Latvia (0-0-0) on Thursday, April 23, at 6:00 a.m. MST.
NOTES
Seattle Thunderbirds netminder Marek Sklenicka (NHL CSS: 6) made 28 saves for Czechia to shock the United States 3-2 in overtime, while Red Deer Rebels defenceman Jiri Kamas (NHL CSS: 134) picked up a secondary assist on Michal Hartl’s game-opening goal.
