World Junior Championship roundup: U.S. bounces back against Switzerland
Canada scores 11, shuts out Austria; Sweden edges Czechia in OT
© Ron Ward/AP
Day 4 games
United States 5, Switzerland 1 --
Jimmy Snuggerud
(St. Louis Blues) scored two goals for the United States in Group B play at Avenir Centre.
Logan Cooley
(Arizona Coyotes) had a goal and an assist for the United States (2-0-0-1), which lost 6-3 to Slovakia on Wednesday. Trey Augustine (2023 draft eligible) made 18 saves.
"I'd say getting it low, getting to work, and moving it low-to-high, getting to the net," Snuggerud said when asked what the difference was compared to Wednesday. "We knew this was their goalie's first start of the tournament, and we didn't get enough shots on him in the first period (eight), but as the game went on, we got better."
Alessio Beglieri (2023 draft eligible) made 37 saves for Switzerland (0-2-0-1), which has never defeated the U.S. at the WJC (23 regulation losses, two ties).
Snuggerud gave the United States a 1-0 lead at 18:05 of the first period from the right post after receiving a backhand pass from Cooley as he began skating behind the net.
Cooley then made it 2-0 at 5:49 of the second period, scoring a power-play goal off a backhand, between-the-legs pass from
Rutger McGroarty
(Winnipeg Jets).
"We didn't like the way we played against Slovakia. For us to bounce back the way we did, we were managing pucks way more, making sure that third forward was high all game, and we buried our chances too," Cooley said. "I thought during our game versus Slovakia, especially towards the end, we had a lot of chances we didn't bury but we buried today."
Snuggerud pushed it to 3-0 at 16:40 when he lifted a shot over a fallen Beglieri from the right face-off circle, and
Tyler Boucher
(Ottawa Senators) made it 4-0 on a rebound at 18:02.
Attilio Biasca (2023 draft eligible) cut it to 4-1 at 19:32 with a shot through a screen from between the circles.
Luke Hughes
(New Jersey Devils) scored with a wrist shot from the right circle at 13:03 of the third period for the 5-1 final.
The United States will play its final game of preliminary round against Finland on Saturday (4 p.m. ET) after Switzerland plays its final game against Slovakia (11 a.m.).
Canada 11, Austria 0 --Connor Bedard had two goals and four assists for Canada in Group A play at Scotiabank Centre.
Bedard, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, leads the tournament with six goals and 15 points in three games.
"Obviously, you don't want to start out slow, but to kind of be able to turn it around like we did in the second and third, when we played a lot harder and played a lot more to our systems, was great," Bedard said. "So, we'll try to do that for a full 60 minutes against Sweden on New Year's Eve."
Logan Stankoven
(Dallas Stars) had a goal and three assists,
Nathan Gaucher
(Anaheim Ducks) and
Joshua Roy
(Montreal Canadiens) each had a goal and two assists, and Adam Fantilli (2023 draft eligible) had a goal and an assist for Canada (2-0-0-1), which has won two straight after losing its opener 5-2 to Czechia on Monday. Benjamin Gaudreau made 12 saves in his second start.
Benedikt Oschgan made 36 saves for Austria (0-0-0-3).
Canada will play its final game of the preliminary round against Sweden on Saturday (6:30 p.m.); Austria will play its finale against Germany on Friday (4 p.m.).
"That's what we're here for. It's what we're excited for and from here on out, it'll be pretty tough," Bedard said. "We have a huge game against Sweden for seeding (in Group A), and then it's playoff time from there, so we can't wait. It's kind of what you look forward to in this tournament … New Year's Eve on."
Sweden 3, Czechia 2 (OT) --
Ludvig Jansson
(Florida Panthers) scored his second goal 1:35 into overtime in Group A play at Scotiabank Centre.
Jansson received a pass from
Jonathan Lekkerimaki
(Vancouver Canucks), skated down the right wing and curled into the slot before lifting a backhand into the net.
The defenseman leads Sweden with five points (two goals, three assists) in three games.
"He played with the puck and without it, but it was more about his decisions with the puck and not just the goals," Sweden coach Magnus Havelid said.
Carl Lindbom
(Vegas Golden Knights) made 33 saves for Sweden (2-1-0-0), which moved into first place in the group.
David Jiricek
(Columbus Blue Jackets) had a goal and an assist, and Tomas Suchanek (2023 draft eligible) made 21 saves for Czechia (2-0-1-0).
Jiricek gave Czechia a 1-0 lead at 3:12 of the second period when he finished a cross-crease pass from
Petr Hauser
(New Jersey Devils). It was the first goal allowed by Lindbom in three tournament games.
"The Swedish defense today was great," Jiricek said. "We had a lot of chances today, and the Swedish goalie was unbelievable."
Fabian Wagner
(Winnipeg Jets) tied it 1-1 from the slot at 5:28. Jansson then gave Sweden a 2-1 lead at 6:58 with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.
Jiri Tichacek (2023 draft eligible) tied it 2-2 at 14:08 of the third period with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle.
Czechia will play its final game of the preliminary round against Germany on Saturday (1:30 p.m.) before Sweden plays its finale against Canada (6:30 p.m.).
Finland 3, Latvia 0 --Jani Lampinen (2023 NHL Draft eligible) made 31 saves for Finland in Group B play at Avenir Centre.
Lampinen made 14 saves in the third period, including a left pad stop on a shot from the slot during a Latvia power play at 15:02.
"I think we played great," Lampinen said. "They didn't get to come through the middle and score there. We just boxed them out to the sides and let them shoot there, so it makes my game easier."
Jani Nyman
(Seattle Kraken) had a goal and an assist for Finland (2-0-1-0), which has won two straight since losing its opener 3-2 in overtime to Switzerland on Monday.
Patriks Berzins (2023 draft eligible), who was making his third straight start, made 26 saves for Latvia (0-0-1-2).
Nyman gave Finland a 1-0 lead at 4:43 of the first period on a shot from the left circle.
Niko Huuhtanen
(Tampa Bay Lightning) pushed it to 2-0 with a backhand from the slot at 9:34 of the second period.
Konsta Kapanen (2023 draft eligible) scored an empty-net goal at 17:45 of the third for the 3-0 final.
"We're right there with the top teams," Latvia defenseman Gustavs Ozolins (2023 draft eligible) said. "We can battle every team. We can take points away from every team."
Latvia will play its final game of the preliminary round against Slovakia on Friday (1:30 pm.); Finland plays its finale against the United States on Saturday (4 p.m.).
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