Day 6 Recap: USA Wins Gold, Canada Red Takes Bronze

OAKVILLE — The 2026 U17 World Challenge wrapped up Saturday with two medal games. Canada Red beat Canada White 8-4 for bronze behind two goals from Liam Pue, and the United States beat Czechia 3-0 for gold behind Mason Martin's 30-save shutout, two goals from Carter Morris and an empty-net goal from captain Cameron Evans. It is Czechia's first silver medal at this tournament since 1998.

Canada Red beats Canada White, 8-4, to take the bronze medal

Canada Red finished the tournament on a high note, beating Canada White 8-4 in the bronze medal game. Liam Pue scored twice, Kash Kwajah scored and added an assist, and Canada Red out-shot Canada White 53-40 in a fast, back-and-forth game that featured seven power-play chances for Canada White and five for Canada Red.

Maddox Schultz came out flying for Canada White, with chance after chance in the opening minutes. Canada Red struck first anyway. Roulston buried a far-side low glove shot from the left circle at 17:08, off passes from Fransen and Lauder, and Schultz answered at 16:27 with a one-timer from a very tough angle at the goal line, roofed under the crossbar, from Sgro. It was 1-1 early.

Royer put Canada Red back in front with a shorthanded goal at 10:20, pouncing on a loose puck and walking in alone. Canada White tied it on the power play at 9:40, when Sgro buried the rebound. Canada Red then pulled ahead on its own power play: Pue took the shot, and Kwajah finished the one-timer rebound at 8:06 to make it 3-2.

Pue made it 4-2 with 6:13 left in the first, finishing a pass from Boisvert, who had crossed the blue line with speed and dropped it for the captain in the middle, a low glove-side shot. Canada White got one back at 3:21 when Daneault took the initial shot, got his own rebound and buried it, after a zone-entry play from Schultz. Canada Red led 4-3 after one, with a 5-on-3 for Canada White carrying into the second.

The second period swung on a flurry. Nicol finished a 2-on-0 with Royer and Lauder at 17:55 to make it 5-3. Sgro scored his second of the game on the power play with 10:15 left, from Schultz, to make it 5-4. Then Charbonneau took a great pass in stride, got behind the defence and went backhand five-hole with 3:36 left to make it 6-4, and celebrated with a big double windmill. Bate then stretched the lead, as he made it 7-4 on the power play at 1:27. Matheson's heart-and-soul block in the first and Mingo's sliding blocker save on a Pue breakaway were the other big moments of the period.

Pue closed the scoring with his second goal at 14:30 of the third, a power-play rip, far-side low glove from the top of the left circle, his spot, off Royer and Kwajah. Pue then went looking for the hat trick on a later power play, missing just wide. Canada Red's Owen Loftus made 36 saves, including big glove and blocker saves on Schultz, and Mingo made 40 saves in relief for Canada White.

For Schultz, the result was a tough pill to swallow. “It's tough to speak right now, obviously,” he said. “Playing for the bronze medal and it not going our way isn't the best feeling. Good play by Sgro there [on Schultz goal]. I was just trying to get the buzz going, fire up to start.” He was proud of the group. “Just how close we are,” he said when asked what he will remember most. “It's cliché, but the way our team bonded at the hotel... anyone could talk to anyone on this team. Everyone was cheering each other on, and it was a special group for sure.”

Schultz also reflected on the leadership role. “I just try to take as much information in as I can at these tournaments, and I thought I did a good job leading the boys,” he said. “I learned a lot from the coaching staff and some other people that have been around. I'm very privileged to get the opportunity to represent my country.” He said he hopes his group chat stays active: “Everybody. I was so close with everyone in this group.”

Schultz was also glad for his friend on the other side. “It was fun to see him score a few goals and have a good performance,” he said of Pue. “The way he can put the puck in the net is pretty special. He can score from distance, which not a lot of guys can do. His scoring touch is outstanding.” The two exchanged good-luck texts before the game. “We both wanted to win, so not much else was said.”

Pue said the group had talked about how much a bronze medal means. “It's definitely a good feeling to end your tournament on a win. It's not the medal we wanted, but our group was great,” he said. “It was so important to show up. I think this tournament will be a little more memorable for us now that we got that medal. Props to our group, because we showed up when it mattered.”

On his own two goals, he said the shots finally started to fall. “The first two games I struggled to get the puck in the net, and towards the end it started to come,” he said. On leading the group: “It was so special. It's hard to describe in words. It was my first time being a leader. We had such a great group, and the guys were awesome and helped me so much through it.” He added that the secret to shooting from distance is simple: “I've always loved going out and shooting pucks. It's repetition after repetition.”

Looking at what he can still add, Pue pointed to the details. “I want to have the puck on my stick all the time, working to get it back when I don't have it, being in the right spots, and being reliable in the D zone so coaches can trust me,” he said. On the possibility of a World Junior invitation: “That would be so special. You always watch the World Juniors growing up. But at the same time, I'm so happy to stay with my club team if that opportunity doesn't come.”

Kwajah said the bounce-back started with his captain. “Liam's great. After yesterday, he really told the boys it was going to take a lot of character after that loss to keep our foot forward and push to win this game,” he said. On his goal: “It's just thanks to my teammates. They've been great for me.” And on playing against familiar faces: “You recognize the hockey, so you play with a little more confidence. You know what's coming your way.”

Standouts
Liam Pue (13, CAN-R): two goals and an assist, including the 4-2 goal in the first and the power-play goal that made it 8-4.
Zaac Charbonneau (14, CAN-R): a goal and an assist, with the backhand five-hole goal that made it 6-4, and named Canada Red's player of the game.
Kash Kwajah (8, CAN-R): a goal and an assist, with the power-play one-timer that
made it 3-2.
Royer (27, CAN-R): a shorthanded goal and two assists.
Lucas Matheson (22, CAN-R): two assists and a heart-and-soul block in the first period.
Maddox Schultz (19, CAN-W): a goal and two assists, with relentless pace and a steady stream of chances all game.
Sgro (2, CAN-W): two goals and an assist, and Canada White's player of the game.
Daneault (21, CAN-W): a goal and an assist, with the five-hole goal in the first.
Dylan Mingo (1, CAN-W): 40 saves on 44 shots in relief, including a sliding blocker save on a Pue breakaway.
Owen Loftus (29, CAN-R): 36 saves on 40 shots, including big glove and blocker saves on Schultz.

USA wins gold, beating Czechia 3-0 behind Mason Martin's shutout

The United States won the gold medal at the 2026 U17 World Challenge with a 3-0 win over Czechia. Mason Martin stopped all 30 shots he faced for the shutout, Carter Morris scored twice, and captain Cameron Evans sealed it with an empty-net goal with 12 seconds left in a tight, goaltender-driven game.

The USA out-shot Czechia 12-4 in the first period and only had one goal to show for it. Czechia's Matyas Novotny was excellent early, sliding across to stop a one-timer from Warner and stopping Evans on a breakaway chance after a saucer pass from Maverick McKinnon. Czechia's defence kept most chances to the outside, and for the first two periods, high-danger chances in the middle of the ice were very hard to come by while both goaltenders played phenomenal hockey.

The USA broke through with 1:36 left in the first. Dean Stevens crossed the blue line, cut to the middle and passed to Carter Morris in the left circle, who fired under the goalie's arm. Joey Cullen picked up the second assist. It was a 1-0 game for the next 38 minutes.

Czechia pressed in the second and third, outshooting the USA 26-23 over the final two periods. Cutta tipped a power-play chance just wide of an open cage, Zelezny rang a shot off the crossbar, Jahn danced through three or four players for a wraparound chance that Martin turned away with his pad against the post, and Michalek and Dvorak both threw hard point shots through traffic. Martin answered every one, including glove saves on Michalek's shots.

The USA kept making plays at the other end. Maverick McKinnon showed off a spinorama to shake a forechecker and carried the puck through the neutral zone with speed, Will LoSauro lay down to block a hard point shot late, and Warner had a breakaway stopped by a big right-pad save from Novotny. The USA also killed both of its penalties, and Czechia finished 0-for-3 on the power play.

The USA doubled the lead on the power play at 12:15 of the third. Cullen held the puck in the right circle, faked the shot and fed a great pass across to Morris, who finished with a catch-and-release goal, with Drew Daley getting the other assist. With Czechia's goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Evans cleared the puck, raced down the ice and slammed it into the empty net with 12 seconds left. Landon Knott got the assist.

Evans was a big part of the story. Throughout the game he did the little things right as team captain, and the goal rewarded a super hard-work game. “I feel amazing. It's the best feeling in the world when you win one for your country,” Evans said. “It means everything. The boys bought in. We got the job done today.” On the goal: “I had a couple of chances earlier in the game that I missed, and I capitalized on that one to put the game away for the boys, and have that moment with the boys in the corner. It was amazing.”

Evans credited his goaltender. “It's the best thing in the world when you know Marty's going to save everything back there,” he said. “He won us that game against Canada White yesterday, and he played a hell of a game today.” On Czechia's size and defensive structure: “We just never give up. That's what our coach preaches. We just have to keep going, put pucks behind them, and keep doing our game plan.”

Martin, meanwhile, kept the focus on the team. “It means a lot, but it doesn't really matter at the end of the day,” he said. “We're going to look up at the scoreboard and it's going to say 3-0, and that's all that matters. We got the job done.” On handling back-to-back big games: “You've got to reset. You can't really think about the last games, whether it's good or bad. It's a new day, new game, and I feel like I did that, and the boys just got it done.”

He said the Czech goalie's play pushed him too. “He played a great game. I think it makes it a little bit more nerve-wracking, but I trust our guys,” Martin said. “I knew we'd have bodies on the line and be blocking everything, and that gave me the trust in them and the will to get it done.” On the message from the coaches at the second intermission: “We hadn't played our best game up to then, so it was just go out there, execute. We're still up one going into the third in the gold medal game, but we came here to do this, so just go execute our game plan.”

Martin also said what the group takes away. “More as a group, we have to learn that no matter what happens, we can battle back,” he said. “That Canada [Red] team really came back on us, and I feel like that set the tone for the rest of the tournament.” Between the second and third periods, the group's focus was clear: “We got to get pucks deep in the third, and we did that.”

For Czechia, Silver is the program's best finish at this tournament since 1998, the only other time it has finished second. Czechia's head coach said the result marked real progress. “I think we did a good job when it comes to our style of hockey. We want to play. We don't want to stand back and wait for a stop. We want to play run and gun and see where we are with the top talent in the world,” he said. “Obviously we didn't win, and that's what we came for, but I believe our kids made a step forward. Compared to a year ago, it's day and night. We just need to score more goals.”

The coach said the progress showed in how Czechia got to the final. “It's huge progress, because it's not just that we were in the finals, but the way how we got to the finals and the style of play we did,” he said. “We basically played head-to-head with Canada, which was huge for us. We played head-to-head with the U.S.; we just couldn't score the goals. I'm proud of the guys, and I believe it's a great start.”

He praised several players. Of the top defence pairing, he said Matyas Michalek “brings something to the team that we needed,” adding, “He wanted to play against the best from his age group. He didn't take it as a step back at all. He took it as a challenge.” Of Dvorak, he said, “He surprised us as well. He had a pretty good tournament.” Of Dominik Zelezny, the youngest player in the tournament, he said, “As a 2011, I believe he did great, and he's a huge future prospect. This tournament opened his eyes, and I believe he's only going to get better.” Of Cutta: “We know what we have in Cutta. We know what he can do. He's a kid who helps us a lot.”

Of goaltender Matyas Novotny, the coach said, “He was solid. He had a great game yesterday and a pretty good game today. Overall, I believe he did really well.” He added that his group leaves with belief. “The kids now believe and understand what they need to do and what they need to get better at, and I believe they weren't that far behind. If anything, some of the players could be a little bit ahead, so it was good for us.”

Standouts
Mason Martin (31, USA): a 30-save shutout in the gold medal game and USA's most important piece of the final.
Carter Morris (46, USA): two goals, including the power-play catch-and-release goal, and was named the player of the game.
Cameron Evans (52, USA): the empty-net goal to seal it, capping a game full of hard-work plays - a captain leading by example.
Joey Cullen (34, USA): two assists, including the fake-and-feed on the power-play goal.
Dean Stevens (49, USA): the assist on the opening goal, with the cut to the middle and pass to Morris.
Matyas Michalek (6, CZE): hard point shots through traffic all game, and Czechia's player of the game.
Matyas Novotny (2, CZE): 32 saves on 34 shots, with big stops on Evans and Warner.
Jan Dvorak (5, CZE): two hard, low point shots through traffic in the third period.
Matyas Cutta (20, CZE) and Dominik Zelezny (21, CZE): created Czechia's best chances, including Zelezny's shot off the crossbar and Cutta's tip on the power play.

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