U20 World Junior Championships

WHL at the World Junior Championships day three

Written by Brandon Rivers on

Finland 4 Denmark 1

Finland (1-1) made sure that Denmark (0-2) did not get their second win over them in as many years Wednesday. They opened the scoring just a couple minutes in after Tri-City defenseman Juuso Valimaki cycled the puck down low and it ended up getting put in by Joona Koppanen. Portland Winterhawks defenseman Henri Jokiharju then got in on the action as he set up a one-timer that Aapeli Rasanen put home on the rebound.

After Denmark got on board in the second, Valimaki added a goal to give the Finns their two-goal lead back. Valimaki scored his on a one-timer and his two points now give him three points in two games. He skated for 18:57 and had four shots.

Jokiharju then finished off the scoring after roaming the zone and finding the puck in front. His two points give him three in two games as well. He had six shots in 23:54 of ice time. The ice time was the most on his team.

Swift Current Broncos forward Aleksi Heponiemi had one shot in 18:16 of ice time and was a plus-one.

Portland Winterhawks forward Joachim Blichfeld and his Danes had another rough game. He skated 15:54 of ice time and did not have a shot on net. He did sign an entry-level contract after the game was over though with the San Jose Sharks.

Russia 5 Switzerland 2

Kamloops Blazers forward Justin Sigrist helped Switzerland (1-1) put a little scare into the Russians (1-1) when he set up the game-tying goal 2:10 into the third period. But the Russians rebounded and scored three straight to keep from falling to 0-2 and essentially having their tournament end for them. Sigrist had 12:58 of ice time and has the lone assist in his two games.

Swift Current Broncos d-man Artyom Minulin had three shots in 18:50 of ice time. He now has four shots on goal in the two games he has played.

 

Sweden 3 Czech Republic 1

Saskatoon Blades defenseman Libor Hajek helped set up a goal in the second period that got the Czech Republic (1-1) to within a goal of Sweden (2-0), but the Swedes held on and added a power play goal from Alex Nylander to pull away and win 3-1. Hajek had two shots in 21:28 of ice time.

Kamloops Blazers d-man Ondrej Vala had 17:31 of ice time and recorded three shots, while Prince Albert Raiders blue-liner Vojtech Budik skated 17:49. Spokane Chiefs d-man Filip Kral had one shots in 18:39 and Red Deer Rebels forward Kristian Reichel had two shots in 16:01.

 

Slovakia 3 USA 2

In perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament thus far, Slovakia (1-1) escaped a game where they were out-shot 45-25 by the USA (1-1) with a 3-2 win. Casey Mittelstadt tied the game for the U.S. late and it seemed like they had finally turned the corner on what had every impression was a game they had looked over in preparation for their big outdoor tilt with Canada Friday. Instead they marched m]back down and scored the winner with just over two minutes left to steal the game. Roman Durny was incredible for the Slovaks as he made many spectacular saves among his 43 total.

Portland Winterhawsk forward Kieffer Bellows was shuffled around the lineup and ended with five shots in 14:17 of ice time.

Spokan Chiefs forward Kailer Yamamoto had himself five shots as well in 16:25 of ice time. He had some solid looks at the end as the U.S. pressed, but he could not find the net.

For Slovakia, Vancouver Giants forward Milos Roman had two shots and was a minus-two in 16:48, while Kootenay ICE d-man Martin Bodak had two shots and was a minus-two in 19:25.