World Juniors Day 4: Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland get key wins
This year’s world juniors have been some of the most exciting in recent times. They have served as an excellent welcome back to the tournament as it has been a few years since a ‘regular’ World Junior Championship was held thanks to the covid-19 pandemic.
With upsets, exciting games and stellar performances from players young and old (or at least as old as a player can get at an U-20 tournament), the 2023 World Juniors have been a blast.
Day 4 continued that trend as Finland and Latvia played a tight game, and Sweden and the Czech Republic went to overtime before the Swedes won it in overtime. The Americans beat the Swiss in the third game of the day, while Canada beat Austria.
Finland fights the fierce Latvians
It’s generally the Finns who get the cool label at international tournaments, but the Latvians have been a thorn in the side of their opponents. After scaring the Americans on opening night, they pushed the Swiss to a shootout. Then today they outplayed the Finns for parts of the game and lost a game much closer than the 3-0 scoreline would indicate.
The Latvians came out strong, but the Finns opened the scoring on a shot by Jani Nyman. The Latvian netminder had his lines of sight taken away by a screen in front, and Nyman’s shot found a path through the crowd. From that point on, the Latvians controlled the game on most shifts. They finished the period with twice as many shots as the Finns but nothing to show for it.
The second period was easily Finland’s best, looking like the team with medal aspirations against a nation hoping to just survive relegation. They controlled the game much better, cleaned up the small passing mistakes and sloppy play. Niko Huuhtanen extended the Finns’ lead by sending a top-shelf backhand shot as he cut across the gap.
Latvia pushed back as the third period began and found themselves in a position to score multiple times and hit multiple posts throughout the game. The Finns scored an empty net goal when Konsta Kapanen pressured the Latvian defenseman in the neutral zone and then chased down the loose puck to bury it.
Latvia may not have won, but they played one heck of a game. If they end up in the relegation round, they could be in for a tough game. If they make the quarter-finals, whoever plays them should watch out.
Sweden tops the Czech Republic in the fight for first place
The Swedes and the Czechs both came to the match undefeated. The Swedes had not conceded a goal, while the Czech Republic had already upset the Canadians, so both teams were riding high. The Czech Republic looked like one of the dark horse contenders for a medal coming into the tournament, so their vociferous performance was not a surprise. On the other hand, Sweden, a perennial contender, faced its first real test. It took a little extra time, but they passed.
The Czech Republic came out hot against the Swedes and created chances with regularity early in the match. They put Carl Lindbom to the test after two consecutive shutouts for the Swedish goalkeeper. The shutout ended at 143 minutes when David Jiricek activated himself to join the rush to make it 2-on-1 in the second period. Petr Hauser sent for the puck to Jiricek, who streaked toward the net, and the Blue Jackets’ draft pick opened the scoring.
However, the Swedes responded when Fabian Wagner intercepted a pass from the Czech defender deep inside the Czech zone. Wagner went in from the forward point and dotted the far corner. However, the Swedes were not finished there. Ludvig Jansson took a pass at the tip and filtered the puck to the net, beating the netminder over the shoulder with a barrage of traffic that took away his vision.
The Swedes came out of the first 40 minutes with a one-goal lead, but it didn’t feel like they were the better team to that point. The third period was more even than the first half of the match, but the Czech Republic’s efforts continued to be thwarted by Lindbom.
It was until barely six minutes into the game when Jiri Tichacek and Matyas Sapovaliv played back and forth before Tichacek scored. Tichacek took the return pass on his backhand, quickly moved it to his forehand and snapped it off. The goal would send the match to extra time.
After many great saves by Lindbom in extra time, the defender who scored earlier in the match won for the Swedes. Jansson took a pass at the offensive blueline and used his skating, size and surprising skill to set up. Jansson froze the opposition and gave himself the time needed to beat the goalkeeper by faking a turn to the middle and cutting towards the net.
The Swedish win puts them in prime position to top the group with a win over Canada on New Year’s Eve. What an entertaining game.
USA takes down the Swiss
The Swiss team held its own at times in this game, including a fairly even first period. The Americans still lacked offensive pop at times, but they found ways to score, whether by pushing in rebounds or finding success on the power play. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Americans secured another win.
Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley starred for the Americans, and the duo created some of the best chances for Team USA. Cooley used his skill and agility to avoid pressure with the puck, and Snuggerud settled into pockets of space to open up the shot. That combination helped the U.S. take a lead late in the period when Cooley fed Snuggerud as he circled the back of the net, and Snuggerud slammed it home.
A hard-fought first period left the Swiss in the lead, and the air was out of the sails a bit from that point onwards. The Americans took over the tempo of the game in the second, creating chances more consistently and playing a smart and center-focused game. They didn’t dominate the game, but they outplayed Switzerland.
Cooley scored on an outstanding between-the-legs pass from Rutger McGroarty on the power play. Snuggerud added another power play goal three quarters of the way through the period on a neat shot from the bottom of the circle. Just over a minute later, Tyler Boucher put in a rebound, as he has done all tournament, to extend the lead to 4-0.
Switzerland responded with a goal in the final 30 seconds of the period, but the damage was done and the Americans took control of the contest. The Americans added one more in the third period to win 5-1, but the Swiss just seemed to run out of gas against the US
The Americans are second in the group now with fate in their hands for the most part. A matchup with Finland will be crucial in determining how Group B pans out when all is said and done.
Canada handles business in a blowout win over Austria
The Austrians have struggled in this tournament, failing to surpass 13 shots in any match so far. Canada was coming off a big win over Germany, where they scored 11 goals. This game was going to be a blowout. The only problem with such games is that it is a bit of a trap game. For the first 13 minutes it was like that. Then Canada got a power play.
The first few minutes saw Austria and Canada applying roughly equal pressure and generating similar quality chances. Much of that was because Canada was shut down in their passing and failed to get their feet moving on most plays. As soon as they got the penalty and Dylan Guenther opened the scoring, Canada rose from its slumber.
The final score was 11-0, and Canada continues its run of competition since the opening game loss to the Czech Republic. With Sweden’s overtime win against the Czech Republic today, it gives Canada a chance to finish atop the group with a regular season win over Sweden on New Year’s Eve.
Connor Bedard had another banner night with six points, giving him 27 all-time. He passed Jordan Eberle’s 26 points on the all-time Canadian junior team scoring list, leaving only Eric Lindros’ 31 points ahead of him. He also tied Jordan Eberle’s all-time scoring record with a stunning goal on his stomach. With up to four games left for Bedard, he can break the scoring record in significantly fewer games than Lindros.
Logan Stankoven also had a great game with four points on the night, scoring a beautiful goal on tight that the refs didn’t call at first until the next whistle.
Adam Fantilli, Canada’s other draft-eligible player, had three points on the night, including a goal. All but three Canadian skaters recorded a point on the night. The points came from the entire roster, which is good for a team looking to go deep.
Canada has fielded a couple of teams that don’t have nearly the talent level of Canada or the major powers. The real test will be when they fight for first place against Sweden.
Three stars:
1st Star: Connor Bedard, RW, Canada
I may sound like a broken record (Connor beats plenty of them as it is), but what else is there to say? Bedard cements his status as a borderline generational talent. His ability to adapt his game and play with a variety of linemates and teammates is special in itself. But whatever role he takes on, he is undoubtedly elite. Playmaker, sniper, transition assistant or whatever he is asked to do, he will be the best player on the ice most of the time. It’s almost comical. He even had a hit after turning the puck over in the third period. This kid is crazy.
2nd star: Ludvig Jansson, D, Sweden
Jansson scored two goals in the match and played a big role on the blue line for the Swedes. His overtime goal was a thing of beauty. He manipulated the Czech defenders and drove the net like a vintage power forward. His shifty hands in tight meant he could secure a likely top two finish in the group as Sweden head into a crucial match against Canada.
3rd star: Jani Lampinen, G, Finland
The Finns needed a big performance from their goalkeeper against Latvia, as the team never seemed to take control of the match. During many parts of the match, Latvia was the better team. However, Lampinen made 31 saves for the shutout and kept the Finns in this game as Latvia outplayed and outplayed them. The Finns had the bouncers going their way against Latvia, but Lampinen was their biggest reason for the win