After two action-packed days in Ottawa to open the 2025 World Junior Championship, Saturday offered a lighter schedule with just two games on the docket.
One was a blowout, while the other was a more closely contested battle... At least by comparison.
First up on the day was a Group B matchup between Kazakhstan and Czechia in the early afternoon at TD Place.
Kazakhstan entered the contest fresh off an 8-1 loss to Sweden the day prior, while Czechia was likely feeling a bit more rested, having had Friday off following a 5-1 win over Switzerland on the tournament's opening day.
In what turned out to be another crushing defeat for Kazakhstan, Czechia scored 10 goals before the game was halfway through and ultimately finished with a 14-2 win.
Kazakhstan's first goal came from Kirill Lyapunov during a man advantage in the first period, while Alexander Kim scored the second at even strength to kick off the third. Czechia's offence was spread across the team, with seven different players scoring and 14 recording at least one point. The team scored four goals in the first, eight in the second and two in the third, finishing the game with a 36-18 lead in shots on goal.
The Czechs' victory puts them at the top of Group B standings, tied with Sweden with six points after two games but leading on goal differential (19:3). Kazakhstan, meanwhile, is at the bottom. Like Switzerland, the team has yet to record a point but sits last due to a worse goal differential (3:22).
Shortly before the conclusion of that first game, the puck was dropped for a Group A meeting between the United States and Latvia at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Both teams were coming off wins in their previous matchups — the U.S. beating Germany 10-4 on Thursday and Latvia upsetting Canada with a 3-2 shootout victory on Friday.
But, of course, only one team could remain unbeaten by the end of the day, and it was the Americans who managed to do so.
They scored four unanswered goals against Latvia, holding a 4-0 lead until about midway through the final frame when Davids Livsics broke their shutout. Even so, the U.S. held on, adding one more goal to close the game with a 5-1 win.
With the additional three points, the U.S. jumps ahead of Canada and into first place in Group A after two games. Latvia remains in fourth after the loss, ahead of only the currently pointless Germany.
Another day of international play is now behind us, so here is a look at the three stars that stood out on Day 3 of the World Juniors.
3rd star: Matej Mastalirsky, Czechia
Three skaters scored hat tricks in Czechia’s victory over Kazakhstan, and the 19-year-old Mastalirsky was one of them.
Mastalirsky got things started for his team on Saturday, scoring the game's first goal nearly six minutes into the opening period. After a shot by teammate Jakub Fibigr, Mastalirsky pounced on the rebound and fired the puck at the net, which caromed off the post and past Kazakhstan goaltender Vladimir Nikitin.
Kazakhstan switched out Nikitin for Jokhar Dudarkiyev more than halfway through the first, and Mastalirsky subsequently scored twice in the second period on the new netminder. His second-period tallies came a mere 3:15 apart. The second of the two completed the hat trick and actually chased Dudarkiyev from the net, with Kazakhstan opting to return to Nikitin for the remainder of the game.
Undrafted to the NHL and undoubtedly hoping to turn some heads at this year’s tournament, Mastalirsky plays for HC Litvinov in the Czech Extraliga, the country’s top league.
2nd star: Hampton Slukynsky, USA
A day after Latvia showed the world they shouldn’t be underestimated and probably boosted their own confidence, American netminder Slukynsky backstopped his team to a comfortable win against them.
After keeping Latvia off the scoresheet for over 48 minutes, Slukynsky finished the game with 25 saves on 26 shots for a .960 save percentage. He also played a pivotal role in shutting down the Latvian power play, which went 0-for-5.
The one goal he allowed saw him make the initial save on a breakaway shot before being bested on an unexpected rebound from an awkward angle. Apart from that one blemish, Slukynsky consistently made timely saves and disrupted his opponent's offensive flow, helping the U.S. maintain control throughout the game.
A 19-year-old from Warroad, Minn., Slukynsky plays in the NCAA for Western Michigan University, where he holds a .941 save percentage and 1.84 goals-against average after seven games. He is a prospect of the Los Angeles Kings, drafted 118th overall in 2018.
1st star(s): Vojtech Hradec and Jakub Stancl, Czechia
Amid an onslaught of Czech offence, forwards Vojtech Hradec and Jakub Stancl led their team with five points each, including hat tricks, earning them shared first-star honours.
Hradec, 19, is a prospect for the Utah Hockey Club, having been drafted 167th overall by the organization this past summer. He currently plays for BK Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Extraliga. Stancl, also 19, was drafted 106th overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2023 and signed a three-year, entry-level deal in June. Playing for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets this season, Stancl has recorded 32 points (11 goals and 21 assists) in 26 games.
Stancl earned his first point in Saturday's contest on Czechia's second goal, recording the lone assist on Petr Sikora's first-period marker after getting the puck across to his teammate on the rush. He then scored twice in the second period, with the goals coming just over four minutes apart.
The second goal, which put Czechia up 9-1, saw Stancl skate up ice on a three-on-one, slipping past all three Kazakhstan skaters and burying the puck between the legs of their goaltender after displaying some crafty moves.
Despite a quieter third period for the Czechs, Stancl continued to add his name to the scoresheet, completing his hat trick with less than two minutes remaining in the game. And, on his team’s final tally of the contest, just seconds later, Stancl recorded the lone assist to cap his afternoon off.
The final goal that Stancl assisted on was scored by Hradec, completing his own hat trick as the game neared its end. Hradec had scored his two earlier goals in the first and second periods, respectively.
Meanwhile, the two assists he recorded came on Stancl’s two second-period strikes — Hradec recorded the second assist on one and the sole assist on the other.
With their impressive performances on Saturday, the pair moved into first and second in tournament scoring, with Stancl totalling seven points and Hradec six.
Honourable mentions:
• Czech defenceman Jakub Fibigr recorded four assists against Kazakhstan — one primary and three secondary — bringing his two-game total to five. He has yet to be on the ice for a goal against his team and currently leads the tournament at plus-9, tied with teammate Petr Sikora.
• U.S. forward Danny Nelson scored two of his team’s five goals on Saturday. He opened the scoring 1:58 into the game and added another while on the power play in the final seconds of the second period. He was awarded player of the game honours for his performance.
• Latvian goaltender Linards Feldbergs’ stats may not have been as strong in this game as they were against Canada. Still, he deserves a shoutout for sticking it out and facing 41 shots less than 24 hours after facing 57 shots and eight shootout rounds in that unexpected victory. His reaching glove save during a U.S. two-man advantage in the second period on Saturday was undoubtedly a game highlight.
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