Kulich's OT winner sends Czechia to 1st WJHC final since 2001

Czechia is heading to the gold-medal game of the World Junior Championship for the first time since 2001.

Buffalo Sabres first-rounder Jiri Kulich scored the OT winner for the Czechs to defeat Sweden 2-1 in the semis, teeing up a meeting with the winner of Canada versus USA in the final.

The game came down to the wire. Czechia had yet to solve Swedish netminder Carl Lindbom through 59 minutes until David Jiricek, the Columbus Blue Jackets' 2022 sixth-overall pick, blasted home an equalizer with 39 seconds left in regulation to send the game to OT.

Overtime remained deadlocked until 9:10 into the extra frame when Kulich scored the heroic goal.

The victory guarantees Czechia its first medal at the tournament since winning bronze in 2005. The Czechs have won gold twice at the event, going back-to-back in 2000 and 2001. The oldest player on the current team was born in 2003, so no members of the squad were alive to see the last gold medal

Matyas Sapovaliv, David Spacek, and Tomas Suchanek were named the top three players for Czechia at the tournament. The son of longtime NHLer Jaroslav Spacek, David, a defenseman, picked up two assists in the game, while Suchanek made 21 saves in the victory.

Ludvig Jansson, Filip Bystedt, and Lindbom were named Sweden's top three players. Jansson scored Tre Kronor's lone goal in the losing effort, while Lindbom stopped 29 of 31 shots in the contest.

Sweden hasn't won the tournament since 2012 and hasn't played in the final since 2018.