GRAND FORKS, N.D. –  The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships came to a close on Monday evening from Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Forward Cole Reschny as well as defensemen Ethan MacKenzie and Keaton Verhoeff helped Canada claim the bronze medal with a 6-3 victory over Finland.
 
The trio becomes the 26th, 27th and 28th current-or-future Fighting Hawks to win a medal at the World Juniors and the first since Tyler Kleven and Jake Sanderson won gold in 2021.  
 
WORLD JUNIORS: Canada 6, Finland 3
There are only three teams that end the World Juniors each year with a win and Canada became one of those teams with a 6-3 victory over Finland in the Bronze Medal Game.
 
In a rematch of a back-and-forth battle on New Year's Eve, Canada used a lethal power play and a strong second period to create some separation and capture its first medal at the event in three years.
 
Reschny closed out his tournament with another positive day in the faceoff dot to lead all Canadian skaters in both faceoff wins (48) and percentage (62.3%) while also sitting top-5 among all skaters at the tournament in percentage. The freshman forward also finished with four goals and one assist for five points over the seven games.
 
Verhoeff picked up a point in his final game of the tournament, notching an assist on Canada's second goal with a slick feed to Braeden Cootes to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead in the first period. The rookie blueliner finished with four assists and was a plus-4 in five games.
 
MacKenzie played just under 14 minutes in the Canadian finale and closed his tournament with a goal and four assists for five points and a plus-4 rating.
 
Reschny and Verhoeff will rejoin UND this week for its series at Colorado College while MacKenzie will return to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL.
 
For more information on North Dakota hockey, follow on social media @UNDmhockey or visit FightingHawks.com.