Around the OHL

Scores

Switzerland 3 Czech 6

USA 5 Finland 4

Slovakia 5 Denmark 1

Russia 3 Sweden 4

Upcoming games (Medal rounds begin)

January 2, 2018

Belarus vs Denmark (relegation game)

Czech vs Finland

Canada vs Switzerland

Sweden vs Slovakia

USA vs Russia

January 4, 2018

Denmark vs Belarus (relegation game)

TBD

January 5, 2018

Belarus vs Denmark (relegation game)

TBD

STANDINGS

Group A

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	4	3	0	1	0	10	15
USA	4	2	1	0	1	8	10
Finland	4	2	0	0	2	6	3
Slovakia	4	2	0	0	2	6	-4
Denmark	4	0	0	0	4	0	-24

 

Group B

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	4	4	0	0	0	12	13
Czech	4	3	0	0	1	9	3
Russia	4	2	0	0	2	6	4
Switzerland	4	1	0	0	3	3	-10
Belarus	4	0	0	0	4	0	-10

 

Fox saves U.S. 

Adam Fox broke a 4-4 tie with a goal at 18:23 of the third period to give the United States a dramatic 5-4 win over Finland. The U.S. led at one point, 3-0.

The Americans also led 4-2 but Finland rallied with two quick goals in the third to tie the score.

Fox took a pass down the right wing in full flight and beat goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with a shot through the pads to give the U.S. a win to close out the round robin for both teams. The U.S. finished with three wins (one in a shootout) and a loss while Finland had two wins and two losses.

Captain Joey Anderson had two goals today; Fox and Casey Mittelstadt had a goal and two assists each; and, Brady Tkachuk had three assists. Mittelstadt now leads all scorers with nine points.

Both teams had already qualified for the quarter-finals, though their opponents won’t be known until later tonight once all round-robin games have been completed.

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Rise of the Roman Empire 

Like a conquering hero, Milos Roman scored twice to lift Slovakia to a 5-1 win over Denmark on Sunday and a 2018 World Junior quarter-final berth in Buffalo.

“I think Denmark started very well,” said Roman. “We had problems in the first five minutes, but after that our game got better. I am happy with my team. We won 5-1 and we’re in the quarter-final. It’s great.” Finishing fourth in Group A, the Slovaks will battle the first-place Group B team on 2 January. It would have been tragic to squander this opportunity in their round-robin finale after hitting an emotional high with the 3-2 upset over the defending champion United States. “It wouldn’t have meant anything if we lost tonight,” said Samuel Bucek, who leads Slovakia with six points.

Bucek and Martin Fehervary added a goal and an assist apiece for Slovakia, and Adam Liska also tallied. Joachim Blichfeld replied for Denmark.

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Sweden prevails, 4-3

Sweden will now play Slovakia in one quarter-finals while the Russians will have the tougher task of facing the Americans at 8pm on Tuesday night.

Steen and Linus Lindstrom scored in the shootout for Sweden while only Vitali Abramov scored for Russia.

That continues Sweden’s extraordinary success in the preliminary round of the World Juniors. Their last loss was to the United States on December 31, 2006. Since that game, they have won ridiculous 44 games in a row (four in overtime) over the last eleven years.

Three times Sweden held a lead in the game, and three times the Russians rallied to tie the score.

“We played okay,” offered Steen, assessing the team’s play tonight. “It was an up and down game, but I think we deserved to win. I think we’ve played better and better in the last week, but I don’t think we’ve played our best yet. We can do better.”

“I think we played a pretty solid game all the way through,” agreed Timothy Liljegren, one of Sweden’s goal scorers. “We were playing against a Russian team that is really good offensively, so it feels good to get the win.”

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Scores

Czech 6 Belarus 5

Sweden 7 Switzerland 2

Finland 5 Slovakia 2

Denmark 0 Canada 8

Upcoming games

December 31, 2017

Switzerland vs Czech

Slovakia vs Denmark

USA vs Finland

Russia vs Sweden

January 2, 2018

Medal round begins

STANDINGS

Group A

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	4	3	0	1	0	10	15
Finland	3	2	0	0	1	6	4
USA	3	1	1	0	1	5	9
Slovakia	3	1	0	0	2	3	-8
Denmark	3	0	0	0	3	0	-20

 

Group B

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	3	3	0	0	0	9	12
Czech	3	2	0	0	1	6	0
Russia	3	2	0	0	1	6	5
Switzerland	3	1	0	0	2	3	-7
Belarus	4	0	0	0	4	0	-10

 

Czechs outgun Belarus

Captain Marek Zachar, who had the eventual winner with 6:37 left, and Filip Chytil each added a goal and an assist. Libor Hajek and Filip Zadina had the other Czech goals, and Vojtech Budik had two assists.

“We really underestimated the game,” said Hajek. “Everyone wants to score, everyone wants to play just for himself. That’s why we almost lost. We had good luck today. But it was kind of a terrible game.”

The Czechs trailed 2-0 early in the second period. After pulling goalie Josef Korenar in favor of Jakub Skarek, they stormed back with five unanswered goals, but then almost blew their hefty lead.

Yegor Sharangovich scored twice, Ivan Drozdov had a goal and an assist, and Igor Martynov and Vladislav Gabrus added singles for Belarus, which also swapped out goalies. Captain Maxim Sushko, Vladislav Yeryomenko, and Viktor Bovbel recorded two assists apiece.

Shots favored the Czechs 39-21.

“Sometimes we need to play an easier game,” said Zadina. “We’re trying to find hard passes. It was a tough game. I’m happy we won today.”

The Czechs have one more chance to shore up their quarter-final seeding when they face Switzerland on New Year’s Eve. Both nations are enduring long World Junior medal droughts. The Czechs last won bronze in 2005 and Switzerland in 1998.

It was a gutsy effort by the underdog Belarusians, but they came away with nothing to show for it. Winless in all four group games, they will play in the relegation round. The Belarusians have been outscored 20-10 so far.

“It was our best game so far, but we had a bad second period,” said Drozdov. “We played well for 30 minutes and we have to build on this.”

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Sweden beats Swiss, 7-2 

The win gives Sweden a 3-0 record and first place in Group B. With the loss, the Swiss are 1-2 and stuck in fourth place, but that’s as low as they can go. Belarus, winless in all four games, will be the Group B representative in the relegation round, and the Swiss will qualify for the quarter-finals.

Perhaps the nicest goal was the last of the game. Elias Pettersson danced around defenceman Simon le Coultre, cut in on goal, and swept the puck in the far side to make it a 7-2 game.

Pettersson and Lias Andersson both had two goals and an assist for the winners, who outshot the Swiss, 42-22.

“Switzerland started pretty fast today, but we got better as the game went on,” said Alexander Nylander, who played on a line with Pettersson and Linus Lindstrom. “Our third period was really strong. We showed how we can play when we’re playing well. They were forechecking hard in the first two periods, and we had to just simplify our game, which we did.”

“We played very well,” echoed defenceman Rasmus Dahlin. “We were strong out there, but we also played well against the Czechs. Those were different games, but we are playing well right now.”

The Swedes got one power-play goal and another short-handed. They opened the scoring in the first with the extra man. Nylander made a perfect slap-pass to Andersson cutting in front, and Andersson made a nice deflection past Mattheo Ritz.

Switzerland tied the game on a brilliant little play from Nicolas Muller. He noticed that Swedish defenceman Linus Hogberg cut dangerously close to his goalie heading up ice and slapped Hogberg’s stick. In the process, the puck went into the net past an unsuspecting Filip Larsson.

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Finns overcome Slovaks 

Markus Nurmi added a goal and an assist, and Joona Koppanen, Aapeli Rasanen and Henri Ikonen also scored for Finland. Martin Bodak and Samuel Bucek replied for Slovakia.

“Even though we are kind of the bigger country in hockey, Slovakia is a good team too,” said Finland’s Olli Juolevi. “They were a tough opponent for us today. I’m happy we got the win.”

Finland and the U.S. will face off in a likely showdown for second place in the group on New Year’s Eve. Finland has won two straight since dropping its Boxing Day opener to Canada.

“After the Canada game, we’ve improved our play and have the two wins,” said Finnish goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. “Of course, we could have been better against Canada, but we can’t do anything about that now. We have to get ready now for tomorrow and play well against the U.S.”

Could the Slovaks maintain the extraordinary focus and emotional level they reached in their 3-2 win over the defending champion Americans? Heading into this game, that was the question on everyone’s mind. Slovak goalie Roman Durny got his second straight start after his upset debut, and he was busy as Finland outshot Slovakia 39-26.

“We have already put the U.S. game behind us,” said Slovakia’s Filip Krivosik. “Today was a new day. We wanted to take at least one point from today’s game to make sure we got into the playoffs, but we didn’t do that.”

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Canada finishes first 

Canada now has two days off before the quarter-finals on January 2. It will not play Sweden, but could still potentially play any of Russia, Czech Republic, or Switzerland.

“We knew if we won tonight we’d finish in first place,” said Sam Steel, “so we wanted to play the right way and be prepared for the quarter-finals. Yesterday was a crazy day, and we were all a little exhausted last night, physically and mentally, but we re-focused and came to the rink ready to play today.”

“We wanted to come out and play hard, play the Canadian way, so it’s good to get back in the win column,” said defenceman Kale Clague. “But I think we still have more. Our goal is to build our game throughout the tournament, and I think going forward we’re going to get better.”

The loss leaves Denmark winless ot 0-3 and puts the team in a must-win situation tomorrow in its final round-robin game against Slovakia. If the Danes don’t win in regulation, they are off to the relegation round. If they do win in 60 minutes, the Slovakians will be off to the best-of-three survival series.

Over and above this fact is that Denmark has scored just once in three games while surrendering 21.

Carter Hart got the shutout for Canada by stopping 18 shots while Canada peppered Emil Gransoe with 44.

Brett Howden had two goals while Cal Foote had three assists in the game.

“it was a good overall effort by everyone,” enthused Hart. “Our goal was to come out flying, and we played that way the whole game. Now we have to get ready and prepare for the quarter-finals.”

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Scores

Belarus 2 Russia 5

Canada 3 USA 4 (shootout)

Upcoming games

December 30, 2017

Czech vs Belarus

Sweden vs Switzerland

Finland vs Slovakia

Denmark vs Canada

December 31, 2017

Switzerland vs Czech

Slovakia vs Denmark

USA vs Finland

Russia vs Sweden

January 2, 2018

Medal round begins

STANDINGS

Group A

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	3	2	0	1	0	7	7
USA	3	1	1	0	1	5	9
Finland	2	1	0	0	1	3	1
Slovakia	2	1	0	0	1	3	-5
Denmark	2	0	0	0	2	0	-12

 

Group B

TEAM	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	2	2	0	0	0	6	7
Russia	3	2	0	0	1	6	5
Czech	2	1	0	0	1	3	-1
Switzerland	2	1	0	0	1	3	-2
Belarus	3	0	0	0	3	0	-9

 

Juolevi rides again

Let’s recap. 2016 was a dream year for this Helsinki native. After earning U20 gold and a tournament all-star berth in his hometown on a team featuring Patrik Laine, Sebastian Aho, and Jesse Puljujarvi, Juolevi won the Memorial Cup with the OHL’s London Knights. He was also selected fifth overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL Draft.

But the following season proved painful. Juolevi was named the captain of the Finnish U20 national team at the World Juniors in Montreal, but losses to the Czechs, Danes, and Swedes doomed his team to the relegation round and a ninth-place finish. Critics also claimed the development of his low-key, puck-moving game had stalled.

Now, as the lone returnee who played for both the 2016 and 2017 Suomi squads, Juolevi seems to have found stability. The Canucks loaned the Jokerit-schooled player to TPS Turku this season, and he’s put up 14 points in 20 games. His World Junior defence partner, Henri Jokiharju of the Portland Winterhawks, has nothing but praise.

“Of course, you can see the experience he has,” said Jokiharju. “He’s a role model for me. He’s a year older than me and did the same thing, going to the Canadian Hockey League and stuff like that. I enjoy playing with him a lot and I think we have good chemistry.”

We chatted with Juolevi after Finland’s dominating 4-1 win over Denmark on Thursday. This evening they will play Slovakia.

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Russians down Belarus

“I can’t talk about myself personally,” said Kostin. “I can just talk about my teammates, who made sure that I scored. I think their performance was 100 percent today.”

German Rubtsov and Artur Kayumov notched a goal and an assist apiece, and Alexei Polodyan also scored for Russia. Artyom Manukyan and Andrei Svechnikov both chipped in two assists.

For Belarus, Sergei Pishuk led the way with a goal and an assist, and Dmitri Deryabin had the other goal.

Russian coach Valeri Bragin doesn’t have as much talent to deploy as in recent years, but his team seems to be getting back on track after a surprising 5-4 loss to the Czechs and a 5-2 win over Switzerland that was harder than it needed to be.

“We play together as a fist,” said Kostin of suiting up for Bragin. “His teams are always extremely close-knit, like a family, and I always enjoy playing for him.”

Russia has medaled at every World Juniors since last winning the tournament in Buffalo in 2011 under Bragin. It took bronze last year.

The Russians often experience peaks and valleys during the preliminary round. They will get a better test of their mettle against the talented Swedes on New Year’s Eve in a game that will likely decide first place in Group B.

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USA wins Snow Bowl, 4-3

Aesthetics aside, the U.S. rallied from 3-1 down in the third to send the game to overtime, then scored the only two goals of the shootout to defeat Canada in an outdoor classic.

Kieffer Bellows and Brady Tkachuk scored in the shootout while all three Canadians missed the target. The first Canadian shooter, Sam Steel, hit the post, but that was as close as they got.

“I just came down the left side,” Bellows described of his shootout. “I kind of analyzed what I was going to do, depending on the goalie’s position. I just thought five-hole was the best opportunity for me, and I tried to shoot it as quick as possible.”

Buffalo Sabres 2017 draft choice Casey Mittlestadt followed up his sensational goal yesterday with three assists today and now leads all scorers with six points in three games.

“The game, the crowd, everything was amazing,” Mittelstadt enthused. “The snow came down hard especially in the second period. At the same time, it made it that much more fun. It was a little different than a normal game. It felt like you’re back outside on the pond.”

“I think the biggest thing was just staying positive throughout this whole game,” suggested American defenceman Mikey Anderson. “We didn’t lose any belief in our room that we were going to come back, and we knew that if we got that first one, we were going to get the next one. We just stuck with it and kept plugging away.”

The game was played before a record crowd for a World Junior Championship game, and fans were treated to another North American classic that included a magnificent snowstorm as the backdrop to events at New Era Field in Buffalo.

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Scores

Finland 4 Denmark 1

Russia 5 Switzerland 2

Sweden 3 Czech 1

USA 2 Slovakia 3

Upcoming games

December 29, 2017

Belarus vs Russia

Canada vs USA (outdoors)

December 30, 2017

Czech vs Belarus

Sweden vs Switzerland

Finland vs Slovakia

Denmark vs Canada

STANDINGS

Group A

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	2	2	0	0	0	6	8
USA	2	1	0	0	1	3	8
Finland	2	1	0	0	1	3	1
Slovakia	2	1	0	0	1	3	-5
Denmark	2	0	0	0	2	0	-12

 

Group B

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	2	2	0	0	0	6	7
Russia	2	1	0	0	1	3	2
Czech	2	1	0	0	1	3	-1
Switzerland	2	1	0	0	1	3	-2
Belarus	2	0	0	0	2	0	-6

 

Kayumov rescues Russia

Kayumov took a nice pass from Klim Kostin and snapped a shot over the glove of Philip Wuthrich to beat a stubborn Swiss team that twice rallied to even the score. Two late goals sealed the Swiss fate, but it was a good game for both teams.

Nonetheless, after outshooting Switzerland by a 37-13 margin, the Russians were full measure for the win. They had lost to the Czechs 5-4 on opening day but played a determined game today.

The Swiss, winners in their debut yesterday, fell to 1-1 with the loss.

“We played more of a team game and made some adjustments,” Kayumov said. “The score was tied in the third period, I think, because of our own mistakes. We gave them good chances, and they scored. But we played better today than in the first game.”

“We played better defensively and created more offensively,” agreed forward Vitali Abramov. “They played a good game, and their goalie played really well today.”

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Sweden holds off Czechs

Alexander Nylander had a goal and an assist for Sweden, and Marcus Davidsson and Elias Pettersson chipped in singles for Sweden, which cashed in twice on the power play. Rasmus Dahlin added two assists.

“I think we played well in the first and third periods,” said Pettersson. “The second period was the Czechs’ period. But overall, it was a great game.”

Swedish coach Tomas Monten continued to ride the phenomenal Dahlin, who logged a team-high 24:05. The 17-year-old Frolunda Gothenburg defenceman also led the team with 20:50 in the 6-1 win over Belarus.

“I play hockey because I love it,” said Dahlin. “I’m having fun out there. Why not have fun?”

Filip Zadina replied for the Czechs.

“The first period was bad,” said Zadina. “We received penalties and we didn’t compete. That’s the reason why we were down 2-0. We got up in the second period and we tried to play better. I think we did. It’s tough to play against this team. They are so good.”

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Bucek masterpiece stuns U.S.

Bucek roared down the left side, went behind the American goal when Joseph Woll over-committed, and tried to tuck the puck in the back side. Woll made a great lunging save, but Bucek got the rebound and found the net.

Bucek also assisted on the other two Slovakian goals, both scored by Filip Krivosik.

The Americans got goals from Brady Tkachuk and Casey Mittelstadt.

“I drove in and faked a shot, and the defenceman dived in,” Bucek described. “I went wraparound and the goalie made the save, but then I saw the loose puck there, and I just put it in.”

One thing must be made clear. Yes, the Americans were heavy favourites coming into the game. Yes, their loss was stunning. But, the Slovaks deserve all the credit in the world for the win. They got timely scoring, played great defence, and got the better goaltending.

It was the first Slovak win over the U.S. at the World Juniors since the 2009 quarter-finals, a string of six losses in between.

“I remember that game,” Bucek recalled. “I was a kid watching with my parents, and you know, something was going through my head. I’m like, ‘I want to be here one day and want to accomplish the same as what the Slovakians did in 2002 [winning World Championship gold].’ We did it tonight. And it’s just something amazing. It’s a big moment for our country and our hockey.”

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Scores

Switzerland 3 Belarus 2

Canada 6 Slovakia 0

Upcoming games

December 28, 2017

Finland vs Denmark

Russia vs Switzerland

Sweden vs Czech Republic

December 29, 2017

Belarus vs Russia

Canada vs USA (outdoor game, weather permitting)

STANDINGS

GROUP A

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Canada	2	2	0	0	0	6	8
USA	1	1	0	0	0	3	9
Finland	1	0	0	0	1	0	-2
Slovakia	1	0	0	0	1	0	-6
Denmark	1	0	0	0	1	0	-9

 

GROUP B

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	PTS	+/-
Sweden	1	0	0	0	0	3	5
Czech	1	0	0	0	0	3	1
Switzerland	1	1	0	0	0	3	1
Russia	1	0	0	0	1	0	-1
Belarus	2	0	0	0	2	0	-6

 

Swiss edge Belarus

Nicolas Muller and Valentin Nussbaumer also scored for Switzerland. For Belarus, Maxim Sushko had a goal and an assist and Viktor Bovbel had the other goal.

“It was a tough game but we won, and that’s the most important thing,” said Kurashev.

It was the second straight loss for newly promoted Belarus, whose starting goalie Andrei Grishenko performed valiantly as shots on goal favored Switzerland 40-29.

“Our start was not so good,” said Belarus’s Igor Martynov. “We had a lot of mistakes and gave up a goal. But then we managed to play better. However, the last two goals broke our game. We should play better, we should fight, we should attack. Then I think everything will be OK.”

Diligent and disciplined as always, the Swiss lack a Nico Hischier-style game-breaker this year, and are looking for scoring by committee.

“We didn’t take advantage of our chances in the first two periods and that made it tough for us,” said captain Nando Eggenberger. “In the third, we were much more effective. We have to score on our chances, especially the rest of the tournament as the games get more important. We had a lot of shots but not many goals.”

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Canada moves to 2-0

Colton Point, making his Team Canada debut, stopped 20 mostly harmless shots to record the shutout.

Jonah Gadjovich had two goals while Jordan Kyrou had a goal and two assists to take over the tournament scoring lead with four points.

“I thought that we got better as the game went on,” Gadjovich remarked, “and I think we’ve gotten better every period. We’re doing well in building our game, and I thought I did well contributing in all areas of the ice. It’s special. You watch guys from the past who have scored, and it means a lot to help our country.”

Steel agreed. “We’re building. Each and every period, we want to get better. We didn’t have quite the effort we wanted yesterday, but I thought tonight we got better every period. We’re going in the right direction.”

The result couldn’t have been a surprise given that Canada has never lost to Slovakia in 20 years of U20 play. The record is now 12 wins and a tie, and that small sign of life from Slovakia was only a scoreless draw in 1998.

Canada now has two days off to prepare for its monumental showdown with the U.S., outdoors at New Era Field. The Slovaks play those same Americans tomorrow night, indoors, at Key Bank Center.

Tonight, Canada showed great speed and puck pursuit, using superior tenacity and strength to claim most of the loose pucks and maintain possession.

Steel’s opening marker came off a deflected pass in the slot. The puck wound up on his stick with goalie David Hrenak looking for a shot the other way. Steel had an open net, which he hit, at 3:39.

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Scores

Czech Republic 5 Russia 4

Belarus 1 Sweden 6

Canada 4 Finland 2

Denmark 0 USA 9

Upcoming games

December 27, 2017

Switzerland vs Belarus

Slovakia vs Canada

December 28, 2017

Finland vs Denmark

Russia vs Switzerland

Sweden vs Czech Republic

USA vs Slovakia

STANDINGS

Group A

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	+/-	PTS
USA	1	1	0	0	0	9	3
Canada	1	1	0	0	0	2	3
Finland	1	0	0	0	1	-2	0
Denmark	1	0	0	0	1	-9	0
Slovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

Group B

Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	+/-	PTS
Sweden	1	1	0	0	0	5	3
Czech	1	1	0	0	0	1	3
Russia	1	0	0	0	1	-1	0
Belarus	1	0	0	0	1	-5	0
Switzerland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

Czechs stun Russia, 5-4

The improbable win came in the opening game of the 2018 World Junior Championship and was only the second victory for the Czechs in the last eleven meetings between the two teams.

“We scored five times against the Russians, so that was big for us,” said Czech defenceman Vojtech Budik. “They’re always such a good team, but our coaches prepared us really well for this game, and we played with a lot of intensity.”

The U20 has been an event that has been as favoured by the Russians as it has been disappointing for the Czechs. Indeed, Russia has earned a medal in 22 of the last 26 U20 tournaments while the Czechs haven’t reached the medals since 2005 (bronze).

This afternoon, however, the Czechs took the initiative from the get-go and proved resilient when pressed. They opened the scoring with a power-play goal just 4:42 into the game, Martin Necas wiring a shot from the slot off a nice corner feed from Martin Kaut who had three assists in the game.

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Sweden tops Belarus

“We just talked about keeping going and doing what we do,” said Andersson. “Obviously, the first game is the first game. It was a bit shaky from us, but we kept going.”

Elias Pettersson and Erik Brannstrom had a goal and an assist apiece, and Glenn Gustafsson and Jens Boqvist also scored for Sweden, which is seeking a medal after three straight fourth-place finishes. Alexander Nylander, Rasmus Dahlin, and Fredrik Karlstrom all chipped in two assists.

“We got the win and the job done, so that’s good,” said Pettersson.

Yegor Sharangovich replied for Belarus.

Sweden’s Filip Gustavsson, named Best Goalie at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in North Dakota made just 8 saves for the win in front of the HarborCenter crowd. Andrei Grishenko, making his World Junior debut between the pipes for Belarus, had 30 saves.

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Canada off and running

Canada got goals from four scorers and solid goaltending from Carter Hart, the goalie of record in last year’s heart-breaking loss to the U.S. in the gold-medal game in Montreal.

In addition, Canada got two beneficial video reviews to allow its first goal and to disallow a possible Finnish goal. Good teams get lucky sometimes, and Canada was both good and lucky, to be sure.

“We had a pretty strong game,” offered defenceman Victor Mete, on loan from the Montreal Canadiens. “We took it to them in the first period, set the tone, and came out with the win. We have a lot of great skaters on this team, so if we can use our speed to our advantage, we will. It could have been a lot more than a 4-2 game, I think.”

Canada’s first goal was impressive. Boris Katchouk simply skated past two Finns to get to a loose puck and create a breakaway. He made a quick deke on goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, hitting the post as he pushed the puck past the goalie.

The puck then caromed off Luukkonen’s skate and went in. As this was happening, though, Katchouk crashed into the crossbar and pushed the net off its moorings. Video review showed the puck crossed the goal line while the pegs were still in contact with the holes, thus making for a “good hockey goal.”

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Home of the brave

Fan favorite Casey Mittelstadt and Kieffer Bellows delivered two goals apiece. Patrick Harper and Max Jones each had a goal and an assist, and Kailer Yamamoto, Andrew Peeke and Dylan Samberg also scored for the United States. Quinn Hughes and Josh Norris had two assists apiece. The U.S. outshot Denmark 36-17.

“We came out ready to go,” said Mittelstadt. “We got a nice goal from Jonesy right away to start it off. That got us rolling. In a tournament like this, it’s big to get the first one.”

Goalie Joseph Woll, who backed up Tyler Parsons for last year’s gold-medal team, recorded his first career World Junior shutout and third win. Danish starter Kasper Krog, whose 91.9 save percentage was third-best among 2017 goalies, will have a hard time cleaning up his stats in Buffalo. He only allowed nine goals in total last year.

The Danes are seeking their fourth consecutive quarter-final berth, but set the wrong tone at Key Bank Arena. This was their third all-time meeting with the Americans. Although not favored to prevail, they would have preferred to at least keep the score closer to their previous encounter (a 4-1 U.S. win on 31 December 2015) than their inaugural flop (an 11-3 U.S. win on 26 December 2011).

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The World Junior Championships are less then 48 hours away and the ten countries involved have finalized or continue to finalize the rosters that will bring together the best Under-20 hockey players from around the globe. Only Belarus, Russia and Slovakia need to submit their final roster.

Canada (8), Finland (1), Slovakia (3), United States (2), Belarus (1), Czech Republic (1), Russia (4), Sweden (1) and Switzerland (1) have Ontario Hockey League players either on their final rosters or competing for the last remaining roster spots.

Two former big-name OHL’ers, and former London Knights’ teammates, are also on the rosters. Victor Mete (Canada) is on loan from the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. Olli Juolevi (Finland) is on loan from TPS from Finland’s Liiga.

Maxim Sushko of the Owen Sound Attack and a 4^th round draft pick, 107^th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers at the 2017 Entry Draft, remains in contention for a roster spot with Belarus.

For Team Russia, Alexei Lipanov of the Barrie Colts (Round 3, 76^th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017), Dimitri Sokolov of the Sudbury Wolves (Round 7, 196^th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2016), Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts (consensus number 2 pick in the 2018 draft) and Dmitri Samorukov of the Guelph Storm (Round 3, 84^th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2017) are looking for a final roster spot.

Adam Liska of the Kitchener Rangers (eligible for the 2018 draft), Adam Ruzicka of the Sarnia Sting (Round 4, 109^th overall by the Calgary Flames in 2017) and Marian Studenic of the Hamilton Bulldogs (Round 5, 143^rd overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2017) are still in contention for Slovakia.

For the complete tournament schedule, click here

For standings click here

For complete stats for the current or past tournaments, visit eliteprospects.com

Here are the rosters courtesy of Elite Prospects:

Group A

Canada

Denmark

Finland

Slovakia (final cuts to be made)

United States

Group B

Belarus (final cuts to be made)

Czech Republic

Russia (final cuts to be made)

Sweden

Switzerland

Canada has taken a giant step towards Buffalo, naming the 22 players who will wear red and white.

Source: Canadian roster set for 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship