Connor Bedard tied the Canadian all-time goals record while Finland beat Latvia, Sweden defeated Czechia and the U.S. won against Switzerland.
This year's world juniors have been some of the most exciting in recent memory. They've served as an excellent welcome back to the tournament as it's been a few years since a "regular" World Junior Championship has been held thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With upsets, exciting games and star performances from players young and old (or at least as old as a player can get at a U-20 tournament), the 2023 world juniors have been a blast.
Day 4 continued that trend as Finland and Latvia played a tight game, and Sweden and Czechia went to overtime before the Swedes won it in extra time. The Americans thumped the Swiss in the day's third game, while Canada pummeled Austria.
Finland Fights Off the Feisty Latvians
It's generally the Finns who get the feisty label at international tournaments, but the Latvians have been every bit of a thorn in their opponents' sides. After giving the Americans a scare on opening night, they pushed the Swiss to a shootout. Then today, they outplayed the Finns for stretches of the game and lost a game much closer than the 3-0 score would indicate.
The Latvians came out strong, but the Finns opened the scoring on a shot by Jani Nyman. The Latvian netminder had his sightlines taken away by a screen in front, and Nyman's shot found a way through the crowd. From that point forward, the Latvians controlled play on most shifts. They ended the period with twice as many shots as the Finns but nothing to show.
The second period was easily Finland's best, looking like the team with medal aspirations against a nation with hopes of just surviving relegation. They controlled the game much better, cleaning up the little passing mistakes and sloppy play. Niko Huuhtanen added to the Finns' lead by throwing a backhand shot top shelf as he cut across the slot.
Latvia pushed back as the third period began and found themselves in a position to score several times, hitting multiple posts throughout the game. The Finns scored an empty-netter as Konsta Kapanen pressured the Latvian defender in the neutral zone and then chased the loose puck down to bury it.
Latvia may not have won, but they played one hell of a game. If they do find themselves in the relegation round, they may wind up being a tough out. If they make a quarterfinal, whoever plays them better watch out.
Sweden Tops Czechia in Battle for First Place
The Swedes and Czechs both came into the game undefeated. The Swedes hadn't allowed a goal, while Czechia had already upset the Canadians, so both teams were riding high. Czechia looked like one of the dark horses to compete for a medal coming into the tournament, so their boisterous performance wasn't a surprise. On the other hand, Sweden, a perennial contender, faced their first real test. It took some extra time, but they passed.
Czechia came out hot against the Swedes, generating chances with regularity early in the game. They put Carl Lindbom to the test after two straight shutouts for the Swedish goalie. The shutout streak ended at 143 minutes as David Jiricek activated to join the rush to make it a 2-on-1 in the second period. Petr Hauser sent to puck to Jiricek, who streaked toward the net, and the Blue Jackets draft pick opened the scoring.
The Swedes responded, though, as Fabian Wagner intercepted a pass from the Czech defender deep in the Czech zone. Wagner walked in from the faceoff dot and sniped it far corner. The Swedes weren't done there, though. Ludvig Jansson took a pass at the point and filtered the puck through to the net, beating the netminder over the shoulder with a barrage of traffic taking away his vision.
The Swedes came out of the first 40 minutes with a one-goal lead, but it didn't feel like they were the better team to that point. The third period was more even than the first half of the game, but Czechia's efforts continued to be thwarted by Lindbom.
That was until just under six minutes left in the game when Jiri Tichacek and Matyas Sapovaliv played give and go before Tichacek scored. Tichacek took the return pass on his backhand, quickly moved it to his forehand and snapped it off. The goal would send the game to overtime.
After many big saves by Lindbom in overtime, the defender who scored earlier in the game won it for the Swedes. Jansson took a pass at the offensive blueline and used his skating, size and surprising skill to put on a show. Jansson froze his opponents and gave himself the time needed to beat the goalie by faking a turn to the middle and cutting toward the net.
The Swedish win puts them in prime position to take first in the group with a win over Canada on New Year's Eve. What an entertaining game.
USA Takes Down the Swiss
The Swiss squad sometimes held their own in this game, including a fairly even first period. The Americans still lacked offensive pop at times, but they found ways to score, be it by tapping in rebounds or finding success on the power play. It wasn't always pretty, but the Americans secured another win.
Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley played starring roles for the Americans, and the duo created some of the best chances for Team USA. Cooley used his skill and agility to evade pressure with the puck, and Snuggerud settled into pockets of space to open up for the shot. That combination helped the U.S. grab a lead late in the period as Cooley fed Snuggerud as he circled the back of the net, and Snuggerud tapped it home.
A hard-fought first period left the Swiss down a goal, and the air was out of their sails a bit from that point forward. The Americans took over the pace of play in the second, generating chances more consistently and playing a smart and center-focused game. They weren't dominating play, but they were out-chancing Switzerland.
Cooley scored on an outstanding between-the-legs pass from Rutger McGroarty on the power play. Snuggerud added another power-play goal three-quarters of the way through the period on a nice shot from the bottom of the circle. Just over a minute later, Tyler Boucher banged in a rebound, as he has done all tournament long, to extend the lead to 4-0.
Switzerland responded with a goal in the final 30 seconds of the period, but the damage was done, and the Americans took hold of the contest. The Americans added another in the third period to get a 5-1 win, but the Swiss seemed to just run out of gas against the U.S.
The Americans sit second in the group now with their fate in their hands for the most part. A matchup with Finland will be pivotal when it comes to determining how Group B settles when all is said and done.
Canada Handles Business in a Blowout Win Over Austria
The Austrians have struggled in this tournament, failing to surpass 13 shots in any game thus far. Canada was coming off a big win over Germany, where they scored 11 goals. This game was setting up to be a blowout. The only problem with games like that is that it's a bit of a trap game. For the first 13 minutes, it was. Then Canada got a power play.
Those first few minutes featured Austria and Canada applying somewhat equal pressure and generating similar quality chances. Much of that was due to Canada being off in their passing and failing to get their feet moving on most plays. As soon as they got the penalty and Dylan Guenther opened the scoring, Canada arose from their slumber.
The final score was 11-0, and Canada continues to run through their competition since losing in the opening game to Czechia. With Sweden's overtime win against Czechia today, it sets up Canada with a chance to finish atop the group with a regulation win over Sweden on New Year's Eve.
Connor Bedard had another banner night with six points, giving him 27 all-time. He passed Jordan Eberle's 26 points on the all-time points list for Canada's world junior squad, leaving only Eric Lindros' 31 points ahead of him. He also tied Jordan Eberle's all-time goal record with a fantastic goal on his stomach. With up to four games left for Bedard, he can break the point record in far fewer games than Lindros.
Logan Stankoven also had a great game with four points on the night, scoring a beautiful goal in tight that the referees didn't call at first until the next whistle.
Adam Fantilli, Canada's other draft-eligible player, had three points on the night, including a goal. All but three Canadian skaters recorded a point on the night. The scoring came from all over the roster, which is great for a team looking to go deep.
Canada has beaten up a couple of teams that don't have nearly the talent level that Canada or the big powers have. The real test will be when they go for first place against Sweden.
Three Stars:
1st Star: Connor Bedard, RW, Canada
I might sound like a broken record (Connor's breaking a ton of them as it is), but what else is there to say? Bedard is cementing his status as a borderline generational talent. His ability to adapt his game and play with a variety of linemates and teammates is special in its own right. But whatever role he takes on, he is unquestionably elite. Playmaker, sniper, transition wiz or whatever else he's asked to do, he will be the best player on the ice most of the time. It's almost comical. He even threw a hit after turning the puck over in the third period. This kid is insane.
2nd Star: Ludvig Jansson, D, Sweden
Jansson scored twice in the game and played a big role on the blueline for the Swedes. His overtime goal was a thing of beauty. He manipulated the Czech defenders and drove the net like a vintage power forward. His shifty hands in tight allowed him to secure a likely top-two finish in the group as Sweden heads into a pivotal game against Canada.
3rd Star: Jani Lampinen, G, Finland
The Finns needed a big performance from their goaltender against Latvia, as the team never seemed to take control of the game. For many parts of the game, Latvia was the better team. However, Lampinen made 31 saves for the shutout and held the Finns in this game as Latvia outshot and out-chanced them. The Finns had the bounces go their way against Latvia, but Lampinen was their biggest reason for the win