Switzerland upset Finland, Sweden throttled Austria, the United States held off Latvia and Czechia stunned Canada in the opening day of the world juniors.
The World Junior Championship is underway, and Day 1 had a little bit of everything. Switzerland and Finland kicked off the day’s action in a game that went to overtime, with the Swiss coming out on top for the upset. Sweden proceeded to pummel the Austrians as expected, with a few players putting up multi-point efforts.
The latter half of the day featured USA taking care of business against the Latvians despite a scoreless first period. Canada and Czechia headlined the schedule on Boxing Day, with Canada’s firepower eventually failing them against the feisty Czechs. Czechia upset the host nation 5-2 on the tournament’s opening night.
Switzerland Upsets the Finns 3-2 in OT
Every year, we wait to see which big powers fall to one of the less imposing nations, and the 2023 event didn’t make us wait long. The first game of the tournament featured the first upset. In a game that never really seemed to hit its full stride, the Finns struggled to generate offensive chances with any regularity.
Konsta Kapanen and the Finns opened the scoring on their sixth shot of the game, matching the Swiss in shot generation to that point. Still, from then on, Switzerland began to outwork and outplay the Finns. All three Swiss goals involved putting in more effort than the Finns.
The first goal was worked off the end wall behind the net before being centered to the slot and sniped home by Lorenzo Canonica. The second goal – which gave them a lead – was the result of attacking the net and banging in a loose puck in the crease. The Finns would eventually tie it up on a nice shot from Kalle Vaisanen, rolling off the half wall and sniping it by the Swiss netminder.
Heading into overtime, the Swiss were outshooting the Finns 25-15. It didn’t take long for the hard-working Swiss squad to strike in extra time. Just under 40 seconds into the frame, the Swiss pinned the Finns below the goal line with the puck on the wall. The Swiss once again won the battle along the boards. The puck worked up the wall to Attilio Biasca, who walked towards the slot and sniped it past the Finnish netminder, who got a piece but not enough.
The Swiss pulled off the upset and started their tournament as well as they could have hoped. Meanwhile, the Finns looked nothing like the reigning silver medallists from the summer. The world juniors were officially back.
Sweden Throttles Austria 11-0
The Swedes took hold of this game fairly early and never took their foot off the gas. They put up 51 shots on the day and only gave up 13 to the Austrians, including a 21-shot first period. It took them until their 15th shot to break through, but the floodgates began to open.
Austria seemingly had no answer for the higher-paced, more skilled Swedes. The Austrians had a difficult time getting the puck out of their own zone because the Swedes pressured the puck immediately upon not having possession themselves. A number of the Swede’s goals came off of turnovers.
The Swedes put up six goals in the middle frame, beginning with Isak Rosen’s second of the game, which was an absolute snipe. Filip Bystedt picked up a pair of goals as well. In total, 16 Swedish players recorded a point, and four had three-point nights.
It was a statement first game by the Swedes. They came in and allowed their skill and offensive prowess to show with an utterly dominant game against an Austrian squad that just didn’t show up to play.
USA Survives Latvia’s Feisty First Forty
This game was much tighter than anyone anticipated, as the Americans needed a big third period to win. After a fairly even first period, the Americans controlled the pace of play for the most part, but the Latvians were opportunistic and made sure to capitalize when given a chance.
The two nations traded goals in the second period, with Jimmy Snuggerud striking first for the Americans on a great play in tight where he buried the loose puck. Latvia’s Anri Ravinskis answered a few minutes later on an outstanding give-and-go, burying the puck into the empty net. USA’s Sean Behrens and Latvia’s Niks Fenenko traded goals from the point. Despite the Americans’ 19-4 lead in shots in the second period, the game was tied at two.
That’s when the Americans woke up and decided it was time to take over. Under two minutes into the third period, Chaz Lucius put his skill and scoring ability on display with a fantastic play. Picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone, the Winnipeg Jets prospect protected the puck, deked a defender and roofed a beautiful goal on a slick backhand shot.
A few minutes later, Red Savage scored again for the Americans. Luke Hughes added a tally later in the third, and the game was safely in their hands. The Americans certainly looked as if they lacked the top-end firepower in this game and magnified some questionable omissions from the roster. But they found a way to win the game and will look to fine-tune their attack moving forward.
Canada Looks Lost as Czechia Upsets the Hosts
The Canadians came into this tournament as favorites to win it all with a roster loaded to the brim with high-end talent. On paper, even against the upstart Czech team, the Canadians should dominate just about any opponent. That’s why they play the games, though.
The first period started with both teams trading chances. Canada got on the board first, with captain Shane Wright scoring on the power play, deflecting a point shot from the slot. Then came two quick goals by Czechia late in the first period.
David Spacek scored the first on an excellent pass from Svozil attacking down the wall, tapping the puck in on the back door. Next, Halifax Mooseheads defender David Moravec scored on a point shot on his home rink. The first period ended with Canada down 2-1.
The second period was more of the same. Canada and Czechia played a fairly even game, but Czechia took advantage of their chances. Less than a minute into the frame, Svozil made his mark again as he received space to walk in from the blueline and sniped to make it 3-1. Connor Bedard scored on a breakaway to get Canada back into the game.
What came next was the defining moment of the game. Zach Dean hit Czech defender Ales Cech up high on the forecheck. Cech was down for a minute and looked unwell as he attempted to get to his feet. The referees convened, and Dean received a game misconduct and a five-minute major for a head hit. Dean was thrown from the game, and Canada was down a man for an extended time.
Czechia scored twice on the five-minute major. First, it was Jaroslav Chmelar, and then it was Matous Mensik. Czechia took a three-goal lead over the host Canadians. The buzz in the building went down, and the Canadians looked unsettled as they went into the second intermission down 5-2.
The final 20 minutes had moments where Canada had threatened. However, undisciplined play, penalties and lack of execution plagued the Canadians as the Czechs, who returned more players than any other team from the summer, took down the host team. David beat Goliath, and wow, was it exciting.
Three Stars
1st Star: Tomas Suchanek, G, Czechia
The Czech netminder was an absolute stone wall in net for Czechia. He held down the fort every time Canada began to make a comeback attempt and made 36 saves on 38 shots. Suchanek will be the biggest reason for the Czechs making it as far as they do at the world juniors. Suchanek could be their MVP candidate and took a stand as the favorite for Top Goaltender at the WJC.
2nd Star: Isak Rosen, W, Sweden
The Buffalo Sabres prospect was the opening goal-scorer in the first period. He scored a fantastic short-side goal from a crazy angle to open the second period as the Swedes took over. His three-point night gives him a share of the tournament lead (with a few teammates), and he should be one of the best offensive players at the World Junior Championship moving forward.
3rd Star: Lian Bichsel, D, Switzerland
From booming hits to the defensive play, rushing up ice and eventually assisting on the game-winner, Bichsel showed exactly why he was a first-round pick last June. Bichsel was one of the most entertaining players in the game, and he was a massive reason that Switzerland controlled this game for a significant portion of it. He played a ton of minutes and will likely continue to do so for the Swiss.