EP Rinkside's 3 Stars from Day 5 of the 2024 U18 World Hockey Championship

ESPOO and VANTAA, Finland – Day 5 at the U18 World Hockey Championships featured only a pair of games, and Czechia was the only team on the schedule with any legitimate aspirations of medalling.

This is why they play the games though – there was no shortage of excitement or intrigue today in Finland.

In Vantaa, Czechia and Kazakhstan squared off in a game that will long be remembered by at least one of those nations. The Czechia squad jumped out to a predictable 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Ondrej Kos and Adam Benák. But what looked to be the early makings of a route quickly turned into anything but.

Kazakhstan scored the next two goals. Then fell behind 3-2 on an Adam Jecho tally before tying it up with under eight minutes to play. Then, it was Mstislav Shipilin who played the