OTTAWA, Ontario – It’s semifinal Saturday here at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship and the U.S. National Junior Team will face Czechia at 7:30 p.m. ET in the second semifinal, following the 3:30 p.m. clash between rivals Finland and Sweden. Both games will air live on NHL Network.

“They’re an excellent team,” said U.S. head coach David Carle of Czechia. “We’ll have to be at our best. I’m confident our group will be ready to play in what should be a great environment.”

Team USA is coming off a 7-2 win over Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Thursday (Jan. 2), with captain Ryan Leonard and James Hagens each chipping in two goals, while Gabe Perreault had three assists.

Czechia scored in the final minute of play on a power play goal to beat host Canada in front of a partisan crowd in its quarterfinal on Thursday to gain a 4-3 win.

The U.S. had a short practice yesterday in preparation for tonight’s game, which will be the 28th meeting all-time between the U.S. and Czechia in the World Juniors. Team USA has a 14-3-1-8-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) series advantage, including a 4-3 overtime victory in the preliminary round of last year’s tournament. The teams have met twice in the semifinals previously (1997, 2000) with each team having one win to its credit.

Team USA is 8-10 all-time in the semifinals and is seeking to advance to Sunday’s gold-medal game. The U.S. has medaled the last 10 times it has reached the World Juniors semifinals.