Game Recap, Hockey Canada, Insight, U20 World Junior Championships, USA Hockey

World Juniors Recap: December 26th, 2020

Written by Adam Kierszenblat on

 

On day two of the tournament, we saw three blowouts.

Each game had a team scoring at least seven goals, and the audience ends up feeling bad for the underdog. Here is a recap of the three games:

News and Notes:

Today’s games were depressing to watch at times but if you were watching the TSN broadcast, Ray Ferraro and Gord Miller distracted from the score with trivia and stories from past tournaments. They have great chemistry together and were able to make the games more enjoyable throughout the blowouts.

Sweden versus the Czech Republic:

Sweden smoked the Czech’s 7-1 in the first game of the day. The game was very close until the middle of the second period when Sweden kicked it up a notch and tallied six straight goals. This was Sweden’s first game in the bubble as they had to miss their pre-tournament game against Germany due to positive COVID tests.

The Czech’s opened the scoring midway through the first period when Jan Mysak beat Hugo Alnefelt. That was the only positive for the Czech’s as Sweden went on to score the next seven goals. Sweden’s first goal came from Costmar who was able to tip in a point shot from Soderstrom. Then midway through the second, Sweden took over the game. They scored three in the second period from Sundsvik on the powerplay, Heineman shorthanded, and Neiderbach at even strength. Sweden had all the momentum going into the third where they buried another three from Soderblom on the powerplay, Bjerselius at even strength, and then again on the powerplay from Gunler.

Sweden showed why they are a contender in this tournament. Their defense and goaltending are among the top in the tournament, and they have skilled forwards who can bury the puck. As for the Czech’s, they still have a chance to advance to the quarter’s but will need to beat Austria in order to do it. They still play the US and Russia, both an upset is very unlikely in either one of those games.

Next Games:

Sweden will take on Austria on the 28th at 4:00 pm MST while the Czech Republic is scheduled to face Russia on the 27th at 7:30 pm MST.

Three Stars from Each Team:

Sweden:

Victor Soderstrom- 3 assists, +1, 21:49 TOI

Philip Broberg- 3 assists, +2, 17:57 TOI

Tobias Bjornfot- 2 assists, +3, 18:08 TOI

Czech Republic:

Michal Teply- 1 goal, 4 shots, 19:11 TOI

Radek Kucerik- 2 shots, 20:43 TOI

Martin Lang- 4 shots, 17:31 TOI

Canada versus Germany:

Canada destroyed Germany 16-2 in game two of the Boxing Day triple-header. Germany played the night before and looked exhausted. They only played with 14 skaters due to positive COIVD tests and it showed.

By the end of the game, Canada had more goals (16) than Germany had shots (15).

During the game, Canadian defenceman Braden Schneider received a game misconduct after he hit Germany’s Schumacher in the head. This may result in a suspension and we should know more by this morning.

Canada jumped out to a two-goal lead midway through the first on goals by Guhle and shorthanded by Mercer. Germany was able to get on the board thanks to a powerplay goal by Peterka. Then it got ugly as Canada scored the next 14 goals. Canada scored two more in the first, seven in the second, and five in the third.

In the first, Tomasino and Krebs lit the lamp to extend the lead to 4-1. In the second, Canada’s seven goals included two for Newhook. Krebs and Tomasino scored their second of the night as well as Cozens, Suzuki, and Mercer getting on the scoresheet. Canada led 11-1 after two but still had some offense left. In the third, Cozens scored his hat trick goal, Krebs scored his second of the night, and Pelletier, Harley, and McMichael rounded out the scoring. Germany’s Elias was able to pot a powerplay goal with less than 20 seconds left in the game to make the score 16-2.

Canada’s Play:

Canada did not play well despite the number of goals scored. If anything, the German keepers were really bad and that is why the score was so lopsided. Canada needs to play better as a team if they want to take home the gold this year. Their passes were off, there were some weak clearances in the defensive zone and they looked slow at times throughout the game. This could have been because of the score but they need to be better throughout the tournament.

Germany Moving Forward:

As for Germany, Tim Stutzle was great when he had the puck on his stick again. Stutzle is a really special player and it is obvious why he went third overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. As for goaltending, it needs to be better for Germany to make the quarterfinals. Fatigue may have played a factor but having both goalies at a 63% save percentage will not win you games. They have some time before their next game to get some bodies back so they need to put this one behind them and move on.

Next Games:

Canada will take on Slovakia on the 27th at 4:00 pm MST while the Germans also play Slovakia but on the 28th at 7:30 pm MST.

Three Stars from Each Team:

Canada:

Dylan Cozens: 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 shots, +4, 14:19 TOI

Dawson Mercer: 2 goals, 2 assists, 3 shots, +5, 11:51 TOI

Bowen Byram: 1 assist, +8, 21:19 TOI

Germany:

Tim Stutzle- 2 shots, 22:12 TOI

Florian Elias- 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 shots, 17:22 TOI

Simon Gnyp: 1 assist, 29:36 TOI

The USA versus Austria

In the third blowout of the day, the US beat Austria 11-0. The score was not even the most shocking part of the game. The US outshot Austria 73-10 and if it was not for an incredible goaltending performance by Sebastian Wraneschitz, who knows what the score would have been. Although he allowed 10 goals, he was phenomenal in a game Austria had no business being apart of.

Near the end of the game, Austria’s Phillip Wimmer was given a game misconduct for a hit to the head on USA’s Patrick Moynihan. Just like the misconduct in the earlier day from Schneider, Wimmer may be facing a suspension for the hit.

After the first period, the score was 1-0 for the US as Helleson was credited with a goal that bounced off his skate and somehow bounced into the net. During the first, Austria was outshot 22-3, but thanks to multiple pucks hitting posts and Wraneschitz, they were still in the game. Then the wheels came off.

The second saw six US goals. In the frame, Zegras and Boldy potted two each while Farinacci and Brisson each lit the lamp once. Then the third rolled around where the US ended off by scoring four including Boldy’s hat trick goal, Brisson’s second of the game as well as Berrard and Colangelo adding one each. Everett Silvertips Dustin Wolf stopped all 10 shots he faced for the shutout.

Improvement by the USA:

The US was much better defensively versus Austria than they were against Russia. The two teams are very different, but the US team is slowly coming together. They were able to control the play and not allow Austria to have any offensive zone time possession. They do need to capitalize more. Having over 70 shots and only 11 goals is not efficient when you consider Canada scored 16 on 44 shots. Yes, Austria’s goalie played extraordinarily but the US is too good of a team to only have had 11 in this game.

What’s Next for Austria:

This tournament was always going to be a challenge for Austria. At this point, the best opportunity they have is if they can beat the Czech’s on New Year’s Eve. They just don’t have the talent this year to compete and it showed tonight. Austria could be in big trouble as well as goaltender Sebastian Wraneschitz went down with an injury with about 11 minutes left in the third. The injury is unknown and could have been due to exhaustion as he faced 68 shots before leaving the game. Wraneschitz will need to be ready if Austria has any chance of making it to the quarterfinals this year.

Next Games:

The US take on the Czech’s on the 29th at 12:00 MST while Austria will face Sweden in what may be another blowout on the 28th at 4:00 pm MST.

Three Stars from Each Team:

USA:

Trevor Zegras- 2 goals, 2 assists, 8 shots, +4, 13:25 TOI

Matthew Boldy- 3 goals, 6 shots, +2, 13:50 TOI

Alex Turcotte- 3 assits, 4 shots, +3, 13:28 TOI

Austria:

Sebastian Wraneschitz- 58 saves on 68 shots.

Luis Lindner- 2 shots, 24:13 TOI

Marco Rossi- 2 shots, 18:43 TOI