Throughout the World Juniors tournament, we’ll be keeping track of all the action and bringing you all of the results in one place.
Germany vs. Denmark
This busy first day of the knockout round began with the relegation match between Germany and Denmark, and it sure was a doozy. The Germans were able to get off to a hot start in this one, breaking open the scoring just three and a half minutes into the frame on a goal from David Lewandoski and beginning their steady accumulation of momentum from there. They were able to build on that after putting together a good penalty kill, and then capitalize when they were just about immediately given a chance of their own on the power play. It looked for a moment like they might really begin to run away with this game, but Denmark found some jump towards the end of the frame, and a goal from Mads Klyvo got them into the game.
The second period unfolded in somewhat similar fashion. The Germans came out hot and were able to build on their lead with two goals in the first five minutes of the frame, care of Manuel Schams and Simon Seidl. But the Danes weren’t going to go away quietly, and even though they were sharply at a disadvantage in terms of overall chances (outshot 14-4 in that period), they were able to put away two of them to keep themselves within one goal heading into the final frame. It was in that third period, though, when the Germans really took over. Once again, they came out swinging, and put away a pair of goals — the first, a really tough one for the Danes, scored on a 5-on-3 power play — but the Danes did well to respond, and Anton Linde got one back for them just over a minute later. They gave it a good run, but discipline kept getting in their way, and another power play goal for the Germans made it a three-goal game, effectively putting this one out of reach, even before the final blow was delivered — their eighth goal of the game scored on the empty net in the waning minutes of the game.
Final: Germany 8 – Denmark 4
Next game up (GER): None
Next game up (DEN): None
Sweden vs. Latvia
Though Latvia was able to avoid a trip to the relegation game with their win over Denmark earlier in the week, their time in this tournament was not going stretch on for much longer. The Swedes, perfect so far in the tournament and riding high on their win over the Americans last time out, came into this looking to take care of business tidily. And they certainly got themselves off to a good start, as Anton Frondell got them on the board just ten seconds into the game and got their offense rolling quickly. They were able to pile on the chances early, but the Latvians were still able to capitalize on one of the few they got in the period — Kristers Ansons scored on the power play to tie things up — even if that drawing even would be short-lived, as Jack Berglund was able to restore the lead for the Swedes just three minutes later.
Though the Latvians were able to find their footing a bit more in the second period and deliver a more even showing as far as overall chances are concerned (they were outshot just 10-8 in that period), on the scoring side where it really mattered, it was all Sweden — two goals in a minute and a half early in the period from Sascha Boumedienne and Felix Carell made for all of the scoring output. Things began to open up a bit more in the third period, with a bit more back and forth action — Frondell got his second of the night early in the period, but the Latvians got that one right back, and when the Swedes again pulled away with a four-goal lead, the Latvians were able to capitalize with a power play goal from Olivers Murnieks to bring the deficit back down to three. It was a good effort, to be sure, keeping the energy up in a game that was still pretty well out of reach, but the Swedish firepower prevailed in this one.
Final: Sweden 6 – Latvia 3
Next game up (SWE): Jan 4, 4:30 ET vs. Finland
Next game up (LAT): None
Czechia vs. Switzerland
Despite what this final score might ultimately suggest, this game began quite evenly played — each team got a chance on the power play but each side came up with a big kill, and while the Swiss were able to come out with the first goal of the game (from their captain Leon Muggli), the shots by the end of the period were 10-9 with the edge given to the Czechs. And they were able to build on that slight edge nicely on the other side of the first intermission, picking up their first goal of the game from Tomas Galvas just 54 seconds into the frame, and while the Swiss were able to restore their lead shortly thereafter, the Czechs found a nice response and were able to again draw things even again by the midpoint of the period.
We won’t spend too much time belaboring this retelling, because this game got ugly and it got ugly fast. After Samuel Drancak got the equalizer, the Czech offense really began pouring it on, with Adam Jiricek extending their lead just 44 seconds later, and Petr Sikora extending it further before the period was out. And while the chances were still relatively even in that middle frame, the ice tilted even more dramatically in the Czechs’ favor in the third period — they were able to hold the Swiss to just three shots on goal through the rest of the game while pouring on 14 of their own, and adding two more goals on their way to a 6-2 win. It was an emphatic showing, and, they’ll hope, a big swing in momentum as they head into their semifinal matchup against Canada.
Final: Czechia 6 – Switzerland 2
Next game up (CZE): Jan 4, 8:30 ET vs. Canada
Next game up (SUI): None
USA vs. Finland
Though the US stumbled a bit in their final game of the round robin against Sweden, they were hoping to get things back on track and come away with a big win over this tough Finnish squad. This is a task that, it would turn out, is easier said than done, but they certainly made a good run at it. The first period definitely stood out as something of a feeling out period, and while the Americans came away ultimately with the edge in chances (outshooting the Finns 12-6), each side managed to put together a couple of really dangerous chances each, but couldn’t seem to beat either of the goalies with them.
The pace picked up in the second period, and so too did the offense at long last. The Americans got themselves on the board just 35 seconds into the period on a huge goal from Cole Hutson (in his first game back after taking a very scary looking injury earlier in the tournament), and while they hoped this would be the moment for them to begin to run away with this game, the Finns had other plans. Just over four minutes later, a pair of Flyers prospects in Max Westergard and Heikki Ruohonen combined for the first goal of the game for Finland, but the Americans were able to get their lead right back before the second intermission, on a huge one-timer from Cole Eiserman. The edge was the Americans’, but it wouldn’t be for long. It was the Finns who came out for the third period with the notable additional jump, and they were able to put up not one but two goals in the opening four minutes (from Leo Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen, just 55 seconds apart) to pull themselves into the lead. And for much of the remaining third period, it looked like they were controlling play pretty comfortably, and the question was creeping in: are the Americans really going to get bounced like this, without a fight.
Not so fast. With just over a minute and a half remaining, the Americans were able to pull their goalie for the extra attacker, and just three seconds after that was done, after a huge play by Will Zellers to get the puck below the goal line with a couple of defenders on his back, James Hagens was able to chip it out front to a wide open Ryker Lee in the slot, and he was able to sneak a quick shot in to tie the game and force overtime.
With how tightly this game had been played up to this point, one wondered whether this one might stretch deep into overtime or even spill into the shootout, but in the end, it only took a hair over two minutes to find a winner. The Finns were able to turn a slow-developing rush and a whiffed initial chance into quick bit of cycling, and a shot from low in the right circle by Arttu Valila beat the American goaltender, and the Finns punched their ticket to the semifinals after all.
Final: Finland 4 – USA 3 (OT)
Next game up (FIN): Jan 4, 4:30 ET vs. Sweden
Next game up (USA): None
Canada vs. Slovakia
Just as the day began with a doozy, so too did it end with one. While it took more than half of the first period for these two teams to really settle in — though there was some good pace being established early — once this game broke open, did it ever break open. Cole Reschny got the Canadians on the board just past the 13 minute mark, and if there was ever a dam breaking, this was it. Just 44 seconds later, with the Slovaks given barely any time to regroup, the Canadians were able to extend their lead to two-goals thanks to Tij Iginla. This was far from all that they had in store though, and through the final four minutes of the game, Michael Misa made it 3-0, then Sam O’Reilly made it four, and then Brady Martin made it five goals for the Canadians with just 13 seconds remaining in the period.
The second period saw a bit of a reprieve, as the Canadians weren’t able to immediately get their scoring going again, but they were before long. Porter Martone finished off a good chance just before the halfway point of the period, and then Cole Beaudoin tacked on the extra point just 50 seconds later, making it an even seven goals for the Canadian side. Of course, this wasn’t a complete absence of offense that the Slovaks delivered, and to their credit, they were able to respond with a goal later in the period from Jan Chovan to at least prevent this one from ending in a shutout.
This game had the chance to get really ugly — even uglier than this already lopsided final score would suggest — but things cooled off pretty markedly through the back half of the game. That one goal for the Slovaks effectively stopped the bleeding, and the Canadians let off the gas through the final 30 minutes of play. They still got a handful of good chances, but all the damage that they needed to inflict was done, and they were able to rest on the performance of Jack Ivankovic, that the Slovaks wouldn’t be able to chip away at their lead any further. It was a step in the right direction for Canada, who struggled mightily early in the knockout round the last two years, but now the next step, the bigger challenge lies ahead of them. With that win, they punched their ticket to their semifinal matchup against Czechia, who eliminated them from the tournament the last two times out.
Final: Canada 7 – Slovakia 1
Next game up (CAN): Jan 4, 8:30 ET vs. Czechia
Next game up (SVK): None
