Ivar Stenberg scored the winner with 3:57 left and added an assist as Sweden defeated Slovakia 3-2 at the 2026 IIHF World Junior  Championship in St. Paul, Minnesota. The hard-working, youthful Slovaks rallied from a two-goal second-period deficit, but fell short.

On the rush, Eddie Genborg found Stenberg open in front, and the SHL rookie sensation from Frolunda HC beat Slovak goalie Alan Lendak with a backhand move.

"We have a lot of things to work on, but still, we figured it out in the end and managed to get three points, which is huge for us," said Sweden's Victor Eklund.

The Swedish power play cashed in twice at Grand Casino Arena. Anton Frondell, who fired a game-high nine shots, scored a goal and an assist, and Eklund also tallied.

Under head coach Magnus Havelid, the always-skillful Swedes hope to bounce back from 2025’s fourth-place finish and top the podium for the first time since 2012. Amazingly, their only other gold medal was back in 1981. There's plenty of work to be done.

Tomas Pobezal and Tobias Tomik replied for Slovakia, which has finished sixth at the last three World Juniors.  The last Slovak win over Sweden was 4-2 in the 2015 World Junior bronze medal game in Toronto.

"I think we played as one team, and this is the type of game we want to play the whole tournament," said captain Tobias Pitka. "Be active and score goals after a good forecheck."

Slovak coach Peter Fruhauf is icing one of the youngest World Junior rosters in recent years. Fifteen players – 13 born in 2007 and two born in 2008 – are eligible to return for the 2027 World Juniors in Edmonton and Red Deer.

Final shots favoured Sweden 32-25.
 

In a scoreless first period, Sweden had the better chances. Noted for his wicked shot, Frondell, the 2025 first-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, zinged one off the iron when his Djurgarden teammate Eklund sent him in behind the Slovak defence. Milton Gastrin fired the puck through Slovak goalie Alan Lendak's pads on a late-period breakaway, but it was swept away from the goal line.

Frondell broke the deadlock at 9:05 of the second period. The top Swedish power play unit is unambiguously built around feeding him for one-timers, and from the right faceoff circle, he blasted home a Alfons Freij pass.

"It's a nice feeling when you see the puck go into the net," said Frondell. "It wasn't the first shot from me, so it was like relaxing."

On another man advantage, Frondell found Eklund on the doorstep for a tap-in to double the Swedish lead at 13:16.

The Slovaks kept coming. Assistant captain Adam Belusko hit Swedish netminder Love Harenstam's left post off the rush. Pobezal ended the Swedish netminder's shutout bid at 19:55, sniping a high shot on a 5-on-3.

"In this tournament the power play and PK are very important," Pobezal said. "We have to be better on the PK, and we can score more goals on the power play."

At 4:54 of the third, Viggo Bjorck thought he'd given Sweden some breathing room when he cut in off left wing to put the puck in. However, the Djurgarden forward nudged Lendak's pad with his left skate as he cut past the crease, and Fruhauf used his coach's challenge on the play, alleging goaltender interference. Upon review, the goal was overturned.

Off a short pass in front by Pitka, Tomik backhanded the puck through Harenstam's legs at 10:55 to tie it up. The exhilarated Slovaks smelled an upset brewing, but it wasn't to be.

Regarding his team's resilience, Pitka explained: "We talked to each other in the locker room. Whatever happens, we play our game for the whole game, 60 minutes, whatever happens. I think we did a very good job with that, and we came back."

Sweden also beat Slovakia in last year's opener in Ottawa. Star defender Axel Sandin-Pellikka led the way with a hat trick and an assist in a 5-2 Swedish victory. The Swedish winning streak versus Slovakia now sits at eight games.

The Slovaks play a key Group A game against Germany on Saturday. The Swedes get a day off before facing Switzerland on Sunday.