World Juniors roundup: Canada dominates while USA, Sweden and Finland win
Connor Bedard ties team goal record as Canada lights up Austria
Canada will have a shot to win the group after beating Austria 11-0 on Thursday.
With the win, Canada sits third in Group A, but one point behind Czechia and two points behind Sweden. A Czech regulation win will give them 10 points, with the result of Canada/Sweden helping to finalize the other two spots in the top three.
Once again, Connor Bedard was the star of the show. After tying a team record with seven points against Germany, he scored two goals and four assists to give him 14 points in three games. His second goal gave him 14 all-time in 12 games, tying him with Jordan Eberle for the team goal-scoring record.
Bedard has 27 points all-time at the tournament, putting him four behind Eric Lindros for the team lead.
Canada started off slow, but once they finally found a way to break past goaltender Benedikt Oschgan, everything went their way. It all started on the power play at 14:08 when Connor Bedard found Brennan Othmann near the net, who promptly passed the puck between his legs. Dylan Guenther then fired home a one-timer to break the ice after a slow start.
A minute later, Zach Dean scored his first of the tournament, only for Bedard to set up Shane Wright on Canada’s third goal – another on the man advantage – at 18:19.
Everything started to fall apart for Austria in the third. Joshua Roy scored 2:37 into the second, and Bedard scored on the very next shift with a snipe that had to be reviewed given how quickly it went in and out. Nolan Allan then scored his first WJC goal two minutes later to make it 6-0.
With just over five minutes left in the second, Canada needed another review for a goal to count. At 34:32, Logan Stankoven knocked the puck over top of Austrian netminder Benedikt Oschgan and in, but it was originally ruled no goal and the play continued for another minute. After an Austrian player flipped the puck over the glass, the play was reviewed and ultimately ruled a good goal, making it 7-0.
Canada didn’t need any other goals, but some extra insurance in the case of goal differential mattering in a tiebreaker situation didn’t hurt. Adam Fantilli’s first goal of the tournament came at 42:15, with Nathan Gaucher getting his own first goal nine minutes later.
But the real highlight was at 53:16 when Bedard’s second of the night tied the Canadian team record, doing so with up to four more games left on the schedule. Tyson Hinds also scored his first of the tournament to close it off, giving Stankoven his fourth point of the night in the process.
USA thumps Switzerland to bounce back
A day after a crushing loss to Slovakia, USA is back in the win column with a 5-1 win over Switzerland.
The United States now sits comfortably in second place in Group B with six points. They’ll wrap up action against Finland on Saturday in what could end up being for the top spot in the group.
The loss was Switzerland’s first of the tournament, keeping them at four points. They still sit comfortably in the Group B playoff race, sitting one points ahead of Slovakia and three over Latvia. Switzerland will close things out with Slovakia on Saturday, which will decide placement ahead of the playoff crossover.
A goal late in the first period gave USA something to smile about in the first. With the two teams playing a close game, Jimmy Snuggerud scored at 18:05 off of a Logan Cooley feed to score in close, making it 1-0.
Cooley then earned one on the power play, with Rutger McGroarty going between the legs to set Cooley up at 25:49. Snuggerud scored his second at 36:40 and Tyler Boucher scored his third of the tournament less than two minutes later to expand USA’s advantage.
But fortunately for the Swiss, they were able to pot one late in the period to give them something to cheer about. Attilio Biasca scored at 39:32 with a wrist shot that clipped goaltender Trey Augustine and in for the 4-1 goal.
The Americans kept the pressure on in the third, but only a single goal made it in. That went to Luke Hughes, who received the puck after some nice moves from Sean Behrens and fired it past Alessio Beglieri for the 5-1 American goal.
Sweden edges Czechia in Group A thriller
Sweden has helped to keep things spicy in Group A, beating Czechia 3-2 in overtime on Thursday.
The win gives Sweden first place in Group A with eight points, while Czechia’s loss keeps them in second with seven. The Swedes can win the group stage with a victory over Canada in the closing game of the round-robin on Dec. 31, while the Czechs can clinch a top-two spot with a win over Germany on Saturday..
Sweden found itself without two key players: Leo Carlsson and Fabian Lysell. Carlsson, a top 2023 draft prospect, was pulled after warmups due to a suspected illness. Then, after just a period, Lysell, a Boston Bruins prospect, was also pulled with no reason given right away.
Czechia was at full strength, though, and David Jiricek managed to open the scoring at 23:12. After Petr Hauser fought past a defender to create a scoring chance, he found Jiricek – a Columbus Blue Jackets pick – in front, and Jiricek made no mistake tapping in the shot.
The lead lasted for just two minutes when Fabian Wagner put a quick wrist shot past Tomas Suchanek, tying the game at one. Just 90 seconds later, Ludvig Jansson’s point shot blew past Suchanek to give Sweden the lead.
The advantage lasted until the 54th minute of the contest. Sweden’s group was tired after consecutive icings, and the Czechs made their passing plays look easy. Eventually, defenseman Jiri Tichacek scored his first goal of any form this season, taking Matyas Sapovaliv’s pass for the 2-2 goal – a huge one late in the going.
The game required overtime, giving both teams a valuable point. But the extra point went to Sweden after Jansson rushed in and fought off a defensive attempt to beat Suchanek, handing the Czechs their first loss of the tournament.
Finland shuts out Latvia
Finland keeps their point streak in Group B play alive after beating Latvia 3-0 on Thursday.
Finland holds first place in Group B with a 2-0-1-0 record and will have a chance to win the group on New Year’s Eve against the United States.
The Finns did most of their damage in the first half. At 4:43, Jani Nyman’s snipe over Patriks Berzins to make it 1-0, breaking up a good start by the Latvians. At 29:34, Nyman set up Niko Huuhtanen in close, with the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect sending a backhander over Berzins for the 2-0 goal.
Latvia was looking to create something in the dying stages but came up short. After a pass to the blueline with the empty net went array, Niks Fenenko was beaten to the puck by Konsta Kapanen, who fired the puck into the open cage for the 3-0 goal.
The goaltenders were the stars of the show. Finland’s Jani Lampinen was excellent, with the undrafted prospect stopping all 31 shots sent his way. Berzins was also good at the other end, making 26 saves to keep his team in the fight.
Three Stars
- Connor Bedard, F (Canada, 2023): A bit of a quiet night for Bedard, who only had six points after recording seven the night before.
- Logan Stankoven, F (Canada, Dallas): A four-point night for Stankoven puts him second in tournament scoring.
- Logan Cooley, F (USA, Arizona): A couple of players had two points each on USA, but Cooley was great as a two-way forward and generated a boatload of chances.