Moving up to the national junior team, Getzlaf made his first of two appearances at the World Junior Hockey Championship in 2004. He recorded six points in six games for a Canadian squad that scored 25 goals in its four round-robin games and surrendered only four en route to a gold medal showdown with the United States. With Canada leading 3–1 early in the third period of the final, both Getzlaf and Sidney Crosby failed to capitalize on opportunities to add an extra goal that may have sealed a victory. Instead, Canada surrendered the lead, and Getzlaf and his teammates were forced to settle for the silver medal after goaltender Marc-André Fleury accidentally sent a clearing pass off a teammate and into his own net for the game-winning goal.