Connor Bedard chased more records at the world juniors as Canada beat Sweden while USA beat Finland, Switzerland won in a shootout and Czechia got a blowout.
New Year’s Eve was the final day of round-robin games, which means quarterfinals are set as the group stage ends.
Switzerland opened the day with a shootout win over the Slovaks, who have played a great tournament to this point. Czechia handled business as they thumped the Germans, showing themselves to be a true contender. The Americans played the Finns strong and secured first place in their group. And the Canadians carried their recent strong play over and won their final game heading into the quarters as well, with Connor Bedard making more history.
The World Junior Championship quarterfinal matchups are as follows:
Finland versus Sweden at 11 a.m. ET
Czechia vs Switzerland at 1:30 p.m. ET
USA vs Germany at 4 p.m. ET
Canada vs Slovakia at 6:30 p.m. ET
Switzerland Takes Down Slovakia in a Shootout
The Slovak squad played some of their best hockey heading into this game, and they looked to be doing more of the same early on.
Just over four minutes into the game, New York Rangers prospect Adam Sykora hunted the puck down on the forecheck. Grabbing the puck below the goal line, Sykora circled the net and cut out front to jam in the puck. After a couple of attempts, Slovakia opened the scoring.
The Swiss tied it up just over a minute into the second period on a great play by Jonas Taibel, who found the trailing Liekit Reichle on an odd-man rush. Reichle attacked with speed and sniped. The Swiss speed generated their first goal of the game.
The Slovaks retook the lead towards the end of the frame with one of the prettiest goals of the tournament. Libor Nemec burst into the offensive zone and toe-dragged a defender before fluttering a pass to Servac Petrovsky, who put the puck in the perfect spot from in tight. Petrovsky added another goal under a minute later on the breakaway to give Slovakia a multi-goal lead.
The third period was a bit of a flipped script as the Swiss had a crisp offensive finish. First, Reichle set up Mischa Ramel on a slick pass under three minutes into the frame. Ramel was alone in the slot and beat the goalie, who was left out to dry. Lorenzo Canonica finished on the power play to tie the game as the Swiss got in behind the Slovaks, making some crisp passes.
Slovakia came close to regaining the lead a couple of times, but it was all for not. The teams were off to overtime which solved nothing, so the game would be decided in the shootout.
After each team scored once in their first five, the teams would go back and forth, trading save for save until the eighth round. Each team scored in Round 8 as Filip Mesar and Canonica found a way to beat the goalie. It would take until Round 10 for the game to conclude as Rodwin Dionicio scored on a silky move and then hit the griddy in celebration.
Czechia Thumps Germany
This was the biggest mismatch of any of the games on the slate for New Year’s Eve, and it proved to be the only blowout. An 8-1 game doesn’t leave a whole lot to break down, especially when it was expected to a degree, but it was an exciting contest that showcases the skill and speed that Czechia has brought to the world juniors this year.
Twelve Czech players got on the board, with four players recording three-point nights. Jaroslav Chmelar had two goals and an assist, Martin Rysavy and Gabriel Szturc had a goal and two assists each, and Jakub Brabenec collected three assists.
David Spacek opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game with a power-play goal. Then, Szturc scored from in tight on a nifty play to extend the lead. By that point, the rout was on as the Czechs had a 16-5 shot differential, and the pace of play was all in their hands.
The Czech squad scored three times in the second and third periods. The Germans scored once in the second period, but it wasn’t a momentum changer. The Czechs simply outclassed them.
The Americans Take It to Finland to Win Group B
The first of two truly marquee matchups on the day, the Americans and Finns battled it out for first place in group B.
Despite a 6-2 win, the difference in this game was truly the goaltending and the quick start by the Americans. Had the U.S. squad not jumped on Finland right away, they may have had a harder time winning this one.
The Americans had the first six shots on goal in the game, and they were buzzing immediately, looking like they were the faster, stronger, and more structured team. On the other hand, the Finns looked a bit out of sorts. They missed on passes they typically never miss on or just seemingly not using their teammates as the Finns have always traditionally done.
It took 15 minutes, but the Americans finally scored as Chaz Lucius took a bounce off the end boards from a Ryan Ufko shot and tapped it in. About a minute later, the Finns responded with a booming shot from Joakim Kemell that hit a body in front and found the back of the net. Despite being outplayed for large chunks of the first, the Finns found themselves, fortunately, tied with the Americans.
Period 2 is when the Americans took over, and the Finns found themselves in trouble. An early-period U.S. power play would give Luke Hughes the room to display his offensive skill set. Rushing up ice, the American captain evaded a defender and sent a pass behind his back to Rutger McGroarty, who buried the one-timer.
A short time later, Jimmy Snuggerud decided it was time for him to join the party. He pestered a Finnish defender with his stick in the offensive zone before collecting the loose puck and spinning to throw the puck on net. Hughes got back into the action a few minutes later by wiring a shot on net from a distance and sneaking it through the traffic to find twine. The Americans were taking over despite the Finns playing their best hockey of the night in the middle frame.
The Finns responded to the Hughes goal quickly as Niko Huuhtanen threw a puck on net from high in the zone along the boards, finding Lenni Hameenaho on the backdoor for the tap-in. It felt like it was all too late, though, for the Finns.
The Americans added a couple more goals in the final frame on some very skilled plays. The Americans played their best game when it mattered most, with the top spot in the group on the line. The hope for them is that they will be able to carry that momentum with them as they enter the quarters with a matchup against Germany.
Canada Dominates Sweden on Bedard’s Historic Night
The Canadians couldn’t take the top spot in the group, but they sure could prevent the Swedes from grabbing it, and that’s exactly what they planned on doing in this one.
Coming out with domination on their minds, they did just that through the first 20 minutes.
With Connor Bedard just four points back of Eric Lindros for the all-time Canadian record (31) and four points back of the Canadian single-tournament record (18), all eyes were on the 17-year-old phenom. He wouldn’t disappoint.
Less than a minute into the game, Bedard set up Josh Roy for a goal in the slot with a beautifully deceptive pass, faking a shot from a sharp angle before sending a crisp pass to Roy.
About a minute later, the future NHL superstar worked the puck up ice and sent a pass to Shane Wright, who fed Brennan Othmann for a beauty. Before the period was over, Bedard was once again involved, working the puck off the wall and making a pass with a defender on his back to Stankoven, who set up Tyson Hinds in the slot. Bedard was one away from history.
Sweden got one back before the period was over, as Ludvig Jansson beat Thomas Milic on the power play. But it didn’t matter. The Swedes were thoroughly dominated in the first frame.
The second period featured chances for both teams as the Swedes seemed to wake up. Milic made a number of big saves to keep the game close, and Carl Lindbom looked much more steady in net for Sweden. Neither team scored, but the Swedish pushback seemed like this game could be within striking distance.
That was, until the third period started.
Less than a minute into the third period, Dylan Guenther set up Othmann for his second of the game with a beauty cross-seam pass to the back door. The air that Sweden had in the sails from the second period was gone. The Canadians looked like they were ready to run away with this one.
Bedard wouldn’t let this game finish without tying Lindros’ all-time points record. With his fourth assist of the game on Canada’s fifth goal, he did just that.
Canada’s win means that they face Slovakia in the quarterfinals as they get to face off against one of the feistiest teams of the tournament in their first elimination game.
Three Stars
1st Star: Connor Bedard, RW, Canada
This kid is incredibly talented, and that is an understatement. Not only did he tie Lindros’ record for most points all-time for Canada at the World Junior Championship, but he also tied the single tournament point record for a Canadian at the event. He also tied Jaromir Jagr’s U-18 points record in the process. He tied Brayden Schenn and Trevor Zegras for the most since 2000.
He has three more games potentially to crush those records, and if he continues to go off at the pace he’s done so far, he could challenge Peter Forsberg’s all-time record of 31 points at a single world junior tournament. This kid is insane.
2nd Star: Luke Hughes, D, USA
The American captain was a dynamo in the game against Finland. He was efficient in moving the puck with his feet and as a passer. Hughes was looking like the Hughes that we saw in his draft year, dominating the competition and again last year when he was one of the best players in all of NCAA hockey. He could’ve easily gotten more than a goal and an assist, as he was a force to deal with.
3rd Star: Jaroslav Chmelar, RW, Czechia
The Czech team has been dominant, finishing first in a very tough Group A with Canada and Sweden. Chmelar has been at the center of it all, just as he was today. He had two goals and an assist in the game against Germany. He is certainly forced opponents to get a scouting report on him, and he attracted the attention of fans.