Day two of the pre-tournament saw two exciting matchups. Canada took on Russia while the Czech battled Slovakia. Here were the results from Wednesday.
Canada versus Russia:
Canada was able to sneak out a 1-0 win over Russia in their pre-tournament game. It was not all good news as Saskatoon Blades Kirby Dach left the game in the third with an upper-body injury. Dach was named captain of Canada before the tournament and was set to be a big part of the Canadian offense. The only goal of the game came in the third period as Jamie Drysdale was able to beat the Russian goaltender. Assisting on the goal was Vancouver Giants’, Bowen Byram. Both teams will look to find their offense before the tournament starts on Friday.
Jamie Drysdale opens the scoring for Canada in their pre-tournament game against Russia!
They lead 1-0 in the third. pic.twitter.com/cK4cLBxcsp
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 24, 2020
Canada opens its tournament against Germany on the 26th at 4:00 pm MST. Russia faces the United States on the 25th at 7:30 pm MST in a game that is sure to feature a lot of goals.
Slovakia versus the Czech Republic:
The Czech Republic demolished Slovakia in their pre-tournament game 6-0. Stanislav Svozil lead the Czechs with three assists. Svozil was drafted 15th overall in the 2020 Important draft by the Regina Pats. Kelowna Rockets forward Pavel Novak scored the winning goal 7:40 into the first period in what was a dominating game by the Czech. The Slovaks will now have to regroup and get ready for their first game versus Switzerland.
Pavel Novak fires the puck into the back of the net and puts @narodnitym up 1-0 over #Slovakia. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/WBsvhTf9zH
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 24, 2020
The Czechs have some time off between games as they do not play until Saturday, December 26th versus Sweden. Game time is set for 12:00 MST. As for Slovakia, they open the tournament with the very first game on December 25th against Switzerland. That game will start at 12:00 MST.