If you’re a fan of the World Junior Championship, day four didn’t disappoint as the tournament's big guns hit the ice in Eastern Canada in a four-game quadruple feature.
The day started with Latvia searching for their first victory of the tournament in a matchup against Group B-leading Finland. Though the Latvians played a tight game filled with excitement at both ends of the ice, they were unable to solve the Finnish goaltender and fell 3-0 to Finland.
Latvia will face Slovakia on Friday where the hungry squad will continue the hunt for their first win.
Then, Czechia and Sweden faced off in a battle to move into the top-spot in Group A. After taking the lead off two goals in quick succession, Sweden looked in control of the game until a late-tying goal by Jiri Tichacek sent this contest to 3-on-3 overtime. It only took a minute and a half for the Swedes to bury the game-winner, remaining undefeated through three games.
Czechia and Sweden both play again on New Years Eve, facing off against Germany and Canada, respectively.
The United States were eager to bounce back against Switzerland after suffering an upset loss to Slovakia on day three, and they did just that. The red, white and blue opened the scoring in the first period before exploding with three goals in the second. Switzerland rallied to score one of their own, but couldn't solve the American goaltender once more.
Captain of the US squad Luke Hughes also got his second of the tournament, tying a nice bow on the 5-1 redemption win.
The US will play Group B powerhouse Finland next, while Switzerland will match up against Latvia on New Years Eve.
It's safe to say the uncharacteristic Boxing Day loss to Czechia is long forgotten in the eyes of Team Canada. In the second half of a back-to-back, immediately following an 11-goal performance over Germany, the red-and-white peppered their Austrian opponents, seemingly scoring goals at will and finished with a 11-0 shutout.
Canada's depth was showcased too, with ten different goal-scorers in the win — a contrast to day three's double hat trick performance from Dylan Guenther and Connor Bedard. Guenther scored the first (and game-winning) goal mid-way through the first period.
Austria will have a short turnaround, playing Germany tomorrow in a must-win game to avoid relegation.
Here are day four's top performers:
Though Finland undoubtably came into this matchup as the favourites, their victory was by no means a foregone conclusion.
Latvia played tight and physical, throwing pucks on net with no shortage of scoring chances, but Finnish goalie Jani Lampinen absolutely shut the door, blanking Latvia and catapulting Finland to the top of the Group B standings.
The 19-year-old goaltender is undrafted in the NHL and plays in the Mestis, the second-highest professional league in Finland, but he was certainly the difference maker in this game, posting a 31-save shutout.
His brilliance in this performance was most notable through the final half of the third period, when it felt like Latvia was peppering the Finnish net with high-danger chances, both five-on-five and on the power play, crowding the crease and trying to get on the board with a greasy goal. Lampinen stayed dialled-in, ensuring that Finland not only got the win, but did so without surrendering so much as a goal against.
Sweden’s undefeated streak was rescued thanks to Ludvig Jansson, who bailed his team out after surrendering a late goal to even up the score.
The 19-year-old 2022 fourth round pick by the Florida Panthers netted a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, to give Sweden its third victory of the tournament.
After Czechia opened the scoring, the Swedes scored two goals in quick succession, including the go-ahead goal by Jansson just 90 seconds after the first. They maintained the lead until the final minutes of the third period, when Czech defenceman Jiri Tichacek scored his first of the tournament and tied the game.
After a near-miss on the other end of the ice, Jansson caught Czechia on a change and carried the puck down the right wing before cutting in front of the Czech goaltender and ripping the puck blocker-side on a backhand.
When you play on a team with Connor Bedard, the uncontested first-overall pick of the 2023 draft and a sure-fire generational talent, it’s easy to feel overlooked, even when you play a stellar game.
Logan Stankoven, however, was determined to make his presence on the ice known and that was evident in his four-point outing over Austria — a performance that included a goal and three primary assists.
The former second-round pick and Dallas Stars prospect earned his second goal of the tournament in bizarre fashion, blasting it top-corner so quickly that the officials initially called it a no-goal. After a TV timeout and a video review, it was ruled a good goal for Stankoven, with Bedard snagging the primary assist.
The pair teamed up twice more on both Bedard goals of the evening, and Stankoven dished the puck to Taylor Hinds late in the third period for Canada's 11th goal, marking his fourth and final point of the outing.
Honorable mentions: We'd be negligent if we didn't include Connor Bedard here, at the very least. He seems to put on mind-boggling performances night after night and today was no different, tying the Canadian goals record at a world juniors tournament with 14 in 12 games with Jordan Eberle.
Jimmy Snuggerud also deserves a nod with his two-goal performance that lifted the United States over Switzerland.
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