World junior roundup: U.S. captures gold medal with 2-0 shutout over Canada

The United States won the gold medal at the world junior championship with a 2-0 victory over Canada on Tuesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

Spencer Knight made 34 saves, Trevor Zegras had a goal and an assist and Alex Turcotte had the other goal for Team USA. 

All three players spent two years with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Plymouth.

The Canadians were undefeated at the 2021 tournament and aiming to repeat as gold-medal winners, but had to settle for silver on home ice.

The U.S., which finished sixth in 2020, won six straight games to capture its fifth under-20 title following a round-robin loss to Russia on opening day.

The Americans improved to 4-1 all-time against Canada when going head-to-head for gold at the tournament.

Earlier Tuesday, Red Wings draft choice Eemil Viro assisted on Finland's winning goal in a 4-1 victory over Russia in the bronze-medal game.

Viro, a 6-0, 165-pound defenseman selected in the third round by Detroit in the 2020 NHL draft, had two assists and was plus-7 in seven games during the tournament.

It was Finland’s first bronze medal since star goalie Tuukka Rask backstopped his nation to third place in Vancouver in 2006.

U.S.-Canada to meet in final

The United States will play for gold at the world junior hockey championship after beating Finland 4-3 on Monday in the tournament semifinals in Edmonton.

Arthur Kaliyev broke a 3-3 deadlock with 1:16 to go with a snap shot from the slot to advance the Americans into the gold-medal game against Canada.

Alex Turcotte, John Farinacci and Matthew Boldy also scored for the Americans, who have won gold four previous times including their last one in 2017.

Canada advanced with a 5-0 victory over Russia on Monday.

Goaltender Devon Levi made 27 saves for the shutout. Alex Newhook, Connor McMichael, Cole Perfetti, Braden Schneider and Dylan Cozens scored goals. 

Schneider and defensive partner Thomas Harley were both plus-4 and Cozens added two assists with six shots and was plus-2.

Tonight's gold-medal game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m., and will mark the fifth Canada-USA final in world junior history (1997, 2004, 2010, 2017). The U.S. has won the last three meetings between the teams in the finals.

Canada-Russia, U.S.-Finland in semis

The semifinals are set for Monday at the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton. Defending champion Canada will play Russia at 5:30 p.m., the U.S. will face Finland at 9:30 p.m.

University of Michigan forward Matthew Beniers scored a goal in Saturday's 5-2 win over Slovakia. Wolverines defenseman Cam York and forward Brendan Brisson were scoreless for Team USA, which lost to Finland in last year's quarterfinals.

Canada blanked the Czech Republic 3-0. Northeastern goalie Devon Levi made 29 saves and has allowed just two goals in his last four games.

Earlier on Saturday, Sweden squandered a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 to Finland. Red Wings draft pick Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist and Detroit pick Elmer Soderblom was named the top Swedish player of the game with a goal.

Finnish defenseman Eemil Viro, another Red Wings draft pick, had an assist and his 21:07 of ice time ranked second on the team.

Russia moved on to the semifinals with a 2-1 victory over Germany. Vasili Ponomoaryov and Semyon Chistyakov scored goals for Russia.

Team USA advances to quarterfinals

Team USA advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win over Sweden at the world junior championship on Thursday in Edmonton. The U.S. will face Slovakia on Saturday at 10:30 p.m.

Tournament scoring leader Trevor Zegras had a goal and two assists for the Americans. He has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in four games and is tied with Pat Peake and Bobby Carpenter for fifth all-time in single-tournament scoring for the U.S. Doug Weight holds the record with 19 points scored in 1991.

The United States closed out preliminary play with three straight shutouts, a first in world junior history for the U.S. They have not allowed a goal in 206:35, which is a new record streak.

Red Wings top pick Lucas Raymond finished the round robin with one goal and two assists in four games. He was scoreless with five shots and minus-1 in 19:24 of ice time against the U.S.

Also Thursday, Canada beat Finland 4-1 and the Czechs blanked Austria 7-0.

In the other quarterfinals on Saturday, Russia will face Germany at noon, Finland will play Sweden at 3:30 and Canada will take on the Czechs at 7.

Russia snaps 52-game Swedish streak

Igor Larionov's Russian team beat Sweden 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday to end the Swedes' all-time record preliminary-round winning streak at 54 games at the world junior championship in Edmonton.

Marat Khusnutdinov scored the winner on the power play with six seconds left in OT.

"It's not an easy game, and it's the type of hockey we expect to play moving forward," said Russian head coach Larionov, who won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings.

"I like the boys responding really well after the loss to the Czech Republic. Tonight was good, despite some circumstances in the second period when we got a few minutes of shorthanded play against Team Sweden."

Detroit's prospects on Team Sweden were scoreless: Lucas Raymond (3 shots, plus-2, 22:15 of ice time), Theodor Niederbach (1 shot, plus-1, 22:15), Elmer Soderblom (5 shots, plus-2, 20:56) and Albert Johansson (3 shots, minus-1, 19:31).

Also Wednesday, Red Wings draft pick Eemil Viro was plus-4 in Finland's 6-0 win over Slovakia and is plus-6 in three victories.

UM's Cam York third in tourney scoring

University of Michigan defenseman Cam York had three assists for Team USA in a 7-0 victory over the Czech Republic on Tuesday afternoon at the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton.

York, a first-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 14th overall pick in 2019, is tied for third in tournament scoring with one goal and five assists in three games. 

In eight games with the Wolverines this year, the 19-year-old York has two goals and two assists. In 30 games with Michigan last year, he had five goals and 11 assists.

U.S. teammate Trevor Zegras, who had two goals and three assists on Tuesday, leads the U20 tourney with five goals and five assists for 10 points.

Canada's Dylan Cozens, who was selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the seventh overall pick after Detroit selected defenseman Moritz Seider in the 2019 draft, is second in scoring with seven points in two games.

The U.S. (2-1) will face Sweden (2-0) on Thursday at 9:30 p.m.

Also Tuesday, Canada's Quinton Byfield had two goals and four assists and was plus-4 in a 10-0 win over Switzerland. In the late game, Russia beat Austria 7-1.

Raymond has 10 shots in win over Austria

Red Wings first-round draft pick Lucas Raymond led Sweden (2-0) to a 4-0 victory over Austria on Monday at the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton.

Raymond, who was helped to the dressing room in the first period after crashing into the boards, had a goal and an assist and a team-high 10 shots.

As for Detroit's other draft picks on Team Sweden, Theodor Niederbach had a goal in 19:22 of ice time, Albert Johansson added an assist and was plus-1, Elmer Soderblom had three shots in 17:02 of ice time and Gustav Berglund had an assist with four shots and was plus-

Every Swede on the team had at least one shot, goalie Hugo Alnefelt got the shoutout by stopping only six shots, tying the record for the lowest total shots in a U20 game and the team extended its record-setting winning streak in preliminary games to 54.

That streak will be on the line on Wednesday when Sweden (2-0) faces Russia (1-1), coached by Hall of Famer and ex-Red Wings center Igor Larionov.

Canada, Finland improve to 2-0

Philip Tomasino had a goal and an assist and Canada beat Slovakia 3-1 on Sunday night to improve to 2-0 in group play in the world junior hockey championship.

Jordan Spence and Jack Quinn also scored, and Devon Levi made 17 saves on his 19th birthday.

Martin Romiak scored for Slovakia in the Group A game.

Romiak scored on a power play with 1:24 left to pull the Slovaks within a goal, and Quinn sealed the victory with an empty-netter.

Canadian defenseman Braden Schneider served a one-game suspension for a check to the head Saturday night against Germany’s Jan-Luca Schumacher in Canada’s 16-2 opening victory.

In the late game, Lukas Parik made 30 saves in the Czech Republic’s 2-0 victory over Russia.

Red Wings draft pick Jan Bednar didn't play for the second straight game.

Filip Koffer opened the scoring in the second period, and Jacub Rychlovsky connected in the third.

Both teams are 1-1 in Group B.

In the first game of the day, Finland beat Switzerland 4-1 to improve to 2-0 in Group A.

Anton Lundell, Juuso Parssinen, Aku Raty and Kasper Simontaival scored for Finland. Attilio Biasca scored for Switzerland.

Red Wings draft pick Eemil Viro was scoreless and plus-1 with three shots in 16:41 of ice time.

The United States will return to action today against the Czech Republic and complete group play Thursday night against Sweden. The Americans opened with a 5-3 loss to Russia on Friday night, and beat Austria 11-0 on Saturday night.

The top four teams in each pool will advance to the quarterfinals.

Soderblom scores between-the-legs goal

Red Wings draft picks Theodor Niederbach and Elmer Soderblom scored goals in Sweden's 7-1 victory over the Czech Republic at the world junior hockey championships in Edmonton on Saturday.

Niederbach (2nd round/2020) and Soderblom (6th round/2019) played on the same line and were joined on the scoreboard by Red Wings' first-round pick Lucas Raymond who had an assist for the Swedes.

Soderblom, who scored his goal on a between-the-legs shot on the power play, added an assist with five shots and defenseman Albert Johansson (2nd round/2020) was scoreless and plus-1. 

Sweden extended its preliminary-round win streak to a record 53 games and will face Austria on Monday before playing Russia and the U.S.

Czech goaltender Jan Bednar (4th round/2020) didn't play in the opener.

Also Saturday, Dylan Cozens had three goals and three assists in Canada's 16-2 win over Germany. Saginaw's Cole Perfetti added three assists and the defensive pairing of Bowen Byram and Jamie Drysdale combined for six points and were each plus-8.

In the late game, University of Michigan forward Brendan Brisson had two goals in the United States' 11-0 win over Austria.

Wings pick Viro plus-1 in opener

Red Wings draft pick Eemil Viro was plus-1 in Finland's 5-3 victory over short-handed Germany on Friday night at the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton.

Viro, a 6-0, 165-pound defenseman who was one of three 2020 second-round draft picks, had two shots and 27 shifts in 19:31 of ice time.

Aku Raty, Henri Nikkanen, and Topi Niemela each had a goal and an assist for the Finns, who are seeking their sixth world junior gold medal of all time. They last triumphed in Vancouver (2019) on Kaapo Kakko’s late 3-2 winner versus the Americans.

Germany, which was missing nine players because of the coronavius, had only 14 skaters – nine forwards and five defensemen. Three players can return to the tournament Sunday and another five Tuesday, barring more positive tests.

Anton Lundell and Mikael Pyyhtia also scored for Finland in the Group A game. Tim Stutzle and Florian Elias each had a goal and assist for Germany.

Earlier in Group A, Slovakia beat Switzerland 1-0 on Roman Faith’s goal with 5:43 left. Simon Latkoczy made 28 saves, stopping Inaki Baragano with his glove on a late power play. Later Friday, the U.S. lost 5-3 to Russia. Captain Cam York of the University of Michigan had a goal and an assist for the Americans.

On Saturday, the United States will face Austria, and Sweden will play the Czech Republic in Group B. Canada will open its title defense against Germany in Group A.

More: Red Wings prospects ready for world junior championship

More: Seven Red Wings prospects to compete at world junior championships

World junior schedule

Friday, Dec. 25

Slovakia 1, Switzerland 0

Finland 5, Germany 3

Russia 5, United States 3

Saturday, Dec. 26

Sweden 7, Czech Republic 1

Canada 16, Germany 2

United States 11, Austria 0

Sunday, Dec. 27

Finland 4, Switzerland 1

Canada 3,. Slovakia 1 

Czech Republic 2, Russia 0 

Monday, Dec. 28

Sweden 4, Austria 0

Germany 4, Slovakia 3 (OT)

Tuesday, Dec. 29

United States 7, Czech Republic 0

Canada 10, Switzerland 0

Russia 7, Austria 1 

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Finland 6, Slovakia 0

Germany 5, Switzerland 4

Russia 4, Sweden 3 (OT) 

Thursday, Dec. 31

Czech Republic 7, Austria 0 

Canada 4, Finland 1

United States 4, Sweden 0

Saturday, Jan. 2

Quarterfinals

Russia 2, Germany 1

Finland 3, Sweden 2

Canada 3, Czech Republic 0

U.S. 5, Slovakia 2

Monday, Jan. 4

Semifinals

Canada 5, Russia 0

U.S.4, Finland 3

Tuesday, Jan. 5

Third-place game, Finland 4, Russia 1

Championship game, U.S. 2, Canada 0

Dach sidelined with wrist injury

Chicago Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach has been ruled out for the world junior championship after he hurt his right wrist during Canada’s exhibition victory over Russia on Wednesday night.

The Blackhawks said Dach was returning to Chicago for further evaluation.

Dach, who turns 20 on Jan. 21, was injured on what seemed like a harmless bodycheck in the neutral zone in the third period. After the hit, the Canada captain pulled off his glove, skated off the ice and went directly to the locker-room area in Edmonton.

Dach was selected by Chicago with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft. He had eight goals and 15 assists in 64 games during his rookie season with the Blackhawks.

Dach’s injury is another tough blow for rebuilding Chicago after it announced Wednesday that Alex Nylander, another young forward, could miss the entire 2021 season because of a left knee injury. Nylander had surgery Monday to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee.

No spectators in Edmonton

A world junior men’s hockey championship like no other opens Friday with zero spectators and teams walled off from the general public because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The under-20 tournament at Edmonton’s Rogers Place is modeled on the NHL’s twin bubbles earlier this year that allowed the league to complete its season. Shorter in duration and with fewer people on hand, the 12-day, 10-nation tournament is still a major logistical undertaking for Hockey Canada and the host committee.

That it wasn’t canceled along with so many other International Ice Hockey Federation tournaments in 2020 indicates a determination to stage – and televise – live hockey despite a spike in local COVID-19 cases.

Hockey Canada vice president of events Dean McIntosh said the province has been “incredibly supportive.” Defending champion Canada opens play Saturday against Germany.

“We have an opportunity to give Canadians a gift here at Christmas time as well,” McIntosh said. “The holiday season, the tradition of the world juniors has been great.”