The NHL Network will air every game of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden.
That includes comprehensive coverage of the United States, which will play Finland in the semifinal round at Scandinavium on Thursday (1:30 p.m. ET). The U.S. earned the top spot in the tournament and won 7-2 against Latvia in the quarterfinal round Tuesday. Finland advanced with a 4-3 overtime win against Slovakia in the quarterfinals.
Longtime NCAA hockey analyst Dave Starman, who will handle the broadcasts along with E.J. Hradek, Jon Rosen and Jon Morosi, will give his three keys to victory for the U.S. before each of its games during the 11-day tournament.
"Finland is a nightmare matchup in a ‘one-and-done,'" Starman said. "They play hard, they play to win rather than not to lose, and they don't give you an inch. That said, to quote my late friend Dennis "Red" Gendron, 'The team that gets off the bus with the best players usually wins.' In this tourney, that's the U.S. Every NHL executive I've talked to in Sweden this week has said they are too deep to lose at every position.
"We all know on any given day anything can happen, but I find it hard to see the U.S. losing. At this point, I think Finland is the United States' biggest rival. Their games against each other are great."
Here are Starman's 3 keys to victory for the United States against Finland:
1. Goaltending
"No secret. Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) starts for the U.S. He's been tremendous, as has been Jacob Fowler (Montreal Canadiens). [Augustine] has been calm and he has made every save the U.S. has needed him to make when they needed it made. He inspires confidence on the bench and is almost unbeatable in tight and along the ice, and his rebound control has been great. Goalies have to have a bartender's memory, and he seems to have completely forgotten that 8-7 game against Sweden in the bronze medal game last year. This Trey Augustine, the one that has Michigan State as a legit contender to win the Big Ten this year, is the brick wall that allows the U.S. to play a little faster, a little looser and with a little more risk-reward."
2. Fast out of the gate
"Aside from the 4-1 win against Norway in the tournament opener, the U.S. has been good right from the drop of the puck, and that's a credit to their leadership and their coaching staff. In ‘one-and-dones,’ finding your game quickly and controlling it early are important. They have also been pretty good at protecting and extending leads. If they get it rolling quickly, Finland will have to chase the game, and that's not really a roster that wants to chase the Americans. The Finns don't have that manufacture-a-goal-out-of-nowhere-guy. The United States has a few."
3. Stay disciplined
"Penalties have been a major emphasis point from U.S. coach David Carle to his team. Every pregame chat we have, in his three points of emphasis, staying out of the box is always there. With how the Finns play, that might be more of a challenge. Finland can be like that mosquito that buzzes your ear when you're sleeping, and you can't seem to swat it away. It just wears you out; the Finns are like that. So, staying out of the box and playing with discipline against a ground-game type team is important."
