Czechs nip Finns

With Adam Musil screening in front, Spacek cut to the middle of the ice and lofted a long shot past Finnish goalie Veini Vehvilainen. Spacek, a 19-year-old Winnipeg Jets prospect, is playing in his third straight IIHF World Junior Championship.

"It was a good feeling," said Spacek. "This goal is special in my career."

Daniel Krenzelok had the other goal for the Czechs, who sang as they came off the ice. Joona Luoto replied for the Finns.

"Everybody was disappointed," said Finland's Eeli Tolvanen. "We wanted to win the first game and get more confidence. We just have to keep going."

The Czechs haven’t won any U20 medals since 2005’s bronze in Grand Forks, North Dakota. They finished fifth last year under coach Jakub Petr, who's returned for 2017.

Finland, which beat Russia in overtime in last year’s final in Helsinki, is looking for its third gold medal in four years. Finland also topped host Sweden in overtime in the 2014 final in Malmo.

"We can still win this tournament," said Finnish captain Olli Juolevi, a tournament all-star last year with nine points. "We haven’t lost anything, kind of. It’s just one game, and we have to be ready to play tomorrow against Denmark."

The Czechs, whose average age is 19 to Finland's 18, outshot their opponents 30-23.

Named Finland's Player of the Game, Vehvilainen probably deserved a better fate. He is most noted for his superb 60-save performance in a 2-1 overtime loss to the United States in the final of the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. The Jyvaskyla native was Finland’s starter at the World Juniors, but was replaced by Kaapo Kahkonen in the quarter-final against Canada and never got the net back.

Last year, Finland edged the Czechs 5-4 in a strange run-and-gun affair. This game in Montreal was much tighter.

The Czechs came out aggressively and drew first blood at 4:27. Krenzelok floated a shot from the left point that bounced off Henrik Borgstrom’s back. Vehvilainen got a piece of it with his glove, but it still found the top corner. Moments later, the Finnish goalie made a fine save on Tomas Soustal’s slot attempt on a 2-on-1 rush.

At 8:56, Finland equalized on Luoto’s gutsy solo effort. He stole the puck from Musil in the neutral zone, got past defenceman Petr Kalina, and lifted it past Czech goalie Jakub Skarek on the short side.

In the second period, the teams traded ineffective power plays. Tolvanen had an impactful shift with about seven minutes left in the frame, cutting in from right wing and forcing Skarek to make a nice pad save before hammering Lukas Jasek into the boards.

Early in the third, the Finns were penalized for too many men on the ice, but the Czechs squandered their advantage. Finland pulled Vehvilainen in the final minute, seeking the tying goal, but to no avail.

"All three periods, we didn’t play like individuals," said Czech forward Filip Chlapik. "We played like a team. I think that’s why we won."
Finland had more high-profile firepower at the 2016 tournament with the top line of Jesse Puljujarvi, Sebastian Aho, and Patrik Laine. All three forwards were eligible to return for 2017, but are with their respective NHL clubs.

"Those guys are some of the best players right now in the NHL," said Juolevi. "It’s a big loss for any team, especially Finland. But we can’t do anything about that. They’re not here now, and we have to play with this team."

Similarly, the Czechs don’t have anyone of David Pastrnak’s calibre this year. He and Laine are currently tied for second place in NHL goals (19) behind Sidney Crosby (24).
Jukka Rautakorpi is seeking his first World Junior medal as Finland’s head coach. He previously coached the team in 1999 (fifth), 2008 (sixth), and 2009 (seventh). Karri Kivi helmed the 2014 gold and Jukka Jalonen was in charge last year.
The last time Finland lost a World Junior game was 28 December, 2015, falling 6-4 to Russia.

Next up for the Finns is Denmark on Tuesday evening. The Czechs have little time to rest, playing the early game against Switzerland that day.

"Switzerland is a good team," said Spacek. "They lost 4-3 to Canada in overtime [in exhibition]. So it’s not easy. I hope we play tomorrow like today."

via World Juniors.

Team USA loses finale to Team Czech Republic

TORONTO -- Team USA is leaving the World Cup of Hockey 2016 without a victory after losing to Team Czech Republic 4-3 in the final preliminary-round game at Air Canada Centre on Thursday.

"None of us with the U.S. team here from head to toe is happy with what's happened here," Team USA coach John Tortorella said. "But I thought our guys rallied together here a little bit, and that's what we talked about, as far as all the things going around the team and the organization of USA Hockey, let's just try to play a game for ourselves.

"We come up short, but I think some guys gave some really true efforts. We just didn't find a way to win the hockey game."

Joe Pavelski, Justin Abdelkader and Ryan McDonagh scored, and Ben Bishop made 16 saves on 20 shots for Team USA before being replaced to start the third period by Cory Schneider, who made seven saves.

"It's important any time you wear your jersey," Abdelkader said. "Putting on the USA sweater, there's a lot of pride in it. I think this [loss] kind of exemplified the way we played the tournament. We just had too many mistakes and they were magnified, teams took advantage of them. There are good players in this tournament, it's best on best, so they're going to make you pay."

'Milan Michalek scored twice and his brother Zbynek Michalek scored for Team Czech Republic. Andrej Sustr scored, and Petr Mrazek made 36 saves.

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
The puck spent 46% in Team USA's offensive zone at even strength (5-on-5). The puck spent 36% in Team Czech Republic's offensive zone at even strength (5-on-5).

Milan Michalek said he believed it was the first time he and his brother scored in the same game for the same team.

"It's special to do it in the World Cup and with our parents here, it's nice," he said. "It's always special to play for the national team when we're playing together."

Team Czech Republic (1-2-0) and Team USA (0-3-0) finished third and fourth in Group A behind Team Canada (3-0-0) and Team Europe (2-1-0).

With the game tied 2-2 late in the second period, Team Czech Republic scored two goals in 39 seconds.

Sustr scored at 16:50 when his shot from the side found a hole between Bishop and the post. Michalek scored his second goal at 17:29 when Ales Hemsky set him up for a one-timer in the slot.

Team USA pulled within 4-3 at 2:22 of the third period on McDonagh's second goal of the tournament, fighting off Jakub Voracek to convert a feed from Blake Wheeler while shorthanded.

Team USA buzzed the Team Czech Republic zone for most of the remainder of the third period, including a power play with 2:11 to play, but could not tie the game.

Zbynek Michalek made it 1-0 at 12:44 of the first period on a point shot. Pavelski tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 14:28 off a setup from Zach Parise and Patrick Kane.

Milan Michalek got credit for Team Czech Republic's second goal when Team USA defenseman Ryan Suter swept a loose puck in the crease into his net at 6:03 of the second period. Abdelkader tied the game 2-2 at 14:13 of the second, one-timing a Dustin Byfuglien pass past Mrazek.

Goal of the game: 

Hemsky skated down the right wing and found Milan Michalek skating into the high slot with a perfect pass. Michalek put his shot in the top corner past Bishop's extended glove to score what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

Save of the game: 

At 5:06 of the third period, Kane corralled a puck off the end boards, spun on a Team Czech Republic defender, and shot toward an empty net. Mrazek got across from the other side of the crease and met the puck near the goal line with his pad, maintaining the 4-3 lead.

Unsung moment of the game: 

Team Czech Republic's penalty killers allowed two shots on Mrazek during a power play that began with 2:11 to go in the third period. Team USA pulled goaltender Cory Schneider for an extra attacker halfway through the power play, but Team Czech Republic did not allow it to score the tying goal.

Highlight of the game: 

Byfuglien skated down the left wing before stopping suddenly to shake a defender and create a passing lane. He immediately saw Abdelkader alone on the far side of the net and set him up for a one-timer that beat Mrazek and tied the game.

"It was a great pass," Abdelkader said. "[Byfuglien's] got great vision, he's played forward in [the NHL] a little bit, and you can see why, because when he gets in the rush he can make plays."

They said it

"If you look at [this win] from a hockey perspective in the Czech Republic, it has a huge meaning because you go out and prove to people there that you can play. Even though the talent on the team or the talent that we have in the NHL or all over the world in the leagues is not as deep as we used to have, you still can come out with a great effort. I think the biggest thing we can take out of this is how much passion and … heart that we put out tonight." -- Team Czech Republic assistant coach Vinny Prospal

Need to know

Each team scored more goals in this game than it did in its previous two games combined. Team USA and Team Czech Republic each scored two goals in its first two games. … Kane played 23:15, second only to defenseman John Carlson, and had a game-high seven shots on goal. Tortorella said he though Kane and Derek Stepan were Team USA's best players.

via WCH2016.com.

Teams North America, Europe, Sweden, Czech Republic release 2016 World Cup of Hockey Rosters

The North American,  Czech Republic, European, and Swedish teams for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey revealed their rosters on Wednesday.

Here are the rosters:

Czech Republic Roster

Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings, G

Michal Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers, G

Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets, G

Radko Gudas, Philadelphia Flyers, D

Michal Kempny, Avangard Omsk (KHL), D

Roman Polak, San Jose Sharks, D

Andrej Sustr, Tampa Bay Lightning, D

Michael Frolik, Calgary Flames, F

Martin Hanzal, Arizona Coyotes, F

Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks, F

David Krejci, Boston Bruins, F

Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning, F

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, F

Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens, F

Vladimir Sobotka, Avangard Omsk (KHL), F

Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers, F

North American Roster

John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks, G

Connor Hellebuyck, Manitoba (AHL), G

Matthew Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins, G

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, D

Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets, D

Ryan Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets, D

Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, D

Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers, F

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres, F

Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames, F

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, F

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, F

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, F

J.T. Miller, New York Rangers, F

Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames, F

Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets, F

Sweden Roster

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, G
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks, G
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes, D
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D
Niklas Hjalmarsson, Chicago Blackhawks, D
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators, D
Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings, D
Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals, F
Loui Eriksson, Boston Bruins, F
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, F
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche, F
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks, F
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks, F
Alexander Steen, St. Louis Blues, F
Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings, F

European Roster:

Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks (Denmark), G
Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders (Slovakia), G
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Slovakia), D
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (Switzerland), D
Dennis Seidenberg, Boston Bruins (Germany), D
Andrej Sekera, Edmonton Oilers (Slovakia), D
Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers (Switzerland), D
Mikkel Boedker, Colorado Avalanche (Denmark), F
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Germany), F
Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks (Denmark), F
Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (Slovakia), F
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia), F
Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders (Denmark), F
Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia), F
Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (Austria), F
Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers (Norway), F

Recaps of today's World Junior Championship games

FINLAND 6, CANADA 5
Defending champion Canada lost to Finland 6-5 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on Saturday.

Right wing Patrik Laine, a 2016 NHL Draft eligible prospect, scored twice for Finland, including the game-winner on the power play with 5:50 remaining.

Antti Kalapudas, Aleksi Saarela (New York Rangers), Julius Nattinen (Anaheim Ducks) and Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) had goals for Finland, which plays Sweden in one semifinal on Monday.

Finland's Jesse Puljujarvi, also a top prospect for the 2016 draft, had three assists and leads the tournament with 15 points.

USA 7, CZECH REPUBLIC 0

Auston Matthews, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, had a hat trick to lead the United States into the semifinals against Russia on Monday.

Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes) made 28 saves to earn his first shutout of the tournament.

Matthews scored his first two goals 4:53 apart in the second period and completed his hat trick 24 seconds into the third period. He leads all scorers with seven goals.

Nick Schmaltz (Chicago Blackhawks), Christian Dvorak (Arizona Coyotes), Scott Eansor and Alex DeBrincat also scored for the United States, which has outscored its opponents 25-5 in winning four of its five games.

RUSSIA 4, DENMARK 3 (OT):

Vladislav Kamenev scored his second goal of the game at 5:00 of overtime to move unbeaten Russia into the semifinals.

Kamenev (Nashville Predators) had forced the overtime by scoring with 44 seconds remaining in the third period.

Yegor Korshkov and Artur Lauta each had a goal and an assist for Russia, which outshot Denmark 46-21.

Russia lost 5-4 to Canada in last year's final and is trying to win the gold medal for the first time since 2011.

SWEDEN 6, SLOVAKIA 0:

Linus Soderstrom (New York Islanders) made 17 saves for his second shutout of the tournament, moving unbeaten Sweden into the semifinals.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings), Jens Looke (Coyotes), Axel Holmstrom (Detroit Red Wings), Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (Boston Bruins), Alexander Nylander and Christoffer Ehn (Red Wings) scored for Sweden, which put the game away with three third-period goals.

"Feels good to be through to the semifinals," Holmstrom told the IIHF website. "I thought we played a really solid game."

Slovakia goalie Adam Huska stopped 49 shots.

SWITZERLAND 5, BELARUS 1:

Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks) and Denis Malgin (Florida Panthers) had a goal and two assists each for Switzerland in the first relegation-round game.

Noah Rod (Sharks), Damien Riat and Julien Privet also scored for Switzerland, which outshot Belarus 41-21.

Recaps of today's WJC games

United States 10, Switzerland 1: Auston Matthews, the likely top pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, had two goals and two assists to lead the United States to a 10-1 victory against Switzerland in a Group A preliminary-round game at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland.

Fellow top draft prospect Matthew Tkachuk and Christian Dvorak (Arizona Coyotes), Zachary Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Colin White (Ottawa Senators) had three-point games. The win moved the U.S. into second place in Group A with six points, three behind first-place Sweden.

Nick Schmaltz (Chicago Blackhawks), Ryan Donato (Boston Bruins) and Brandon Carlo (Boston Bruins) also scored for the U.S.

Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks) scored for Switzerland, which finished fifth in Group A with one point. Switzerland will play Belarus in the relegation round.
The U.S. finishes preliminary-round play Thursday against Denmark (9 a.m. ET; NHLN).

Finland 8, Slovakia 3: Tournament scoring leader Jesse Puljujarvi, an A-rated skater by NHL Central Scouting in its November players to watch list for the 2016 draft, had a four-point game to lead Finland in a Group B game at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.

Puljujarvi, who has 10 points in three games, had one goal and three assists.

Finland took a 3-2 lead into the third period before breaking out with five goals to put the game away.

The host country is third in Group B with six points. Finland plays Czech Republic on Thursday to finish the preliminary round.

Sweden 5, Denmark 0: Oskar Lindblom (Philadelphia Flyers) had one goal and one assist and goaltender Felix Sandstrom (Philadelphia Flyers) made nine saves for the shutout for Sweden in a Group A game.

Sweden won its third straight game and clinched first place in Group A with nine points.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings) opened the scoring 13 seconds into the game at Helsinki Ice Hall. Gustav Forsling (Chicago Blackhawks) gave Sweden a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal midway through the first period.

William Lagesson (Edmonton Oilers) and top 2016 NHL Draft prospect Alexander Nylander also scored for Sweden.

Sweden finishes preliminary-round play Thursday against Canada (3:30 p.m. ET; NHLN); Denmark finishes group play Thursday against the U.S. (9 a.m. ET; NHLN).

Czech Republic 5, Belarus 3: Simon Stransky, a top prospect for the 2016 draft, was one of five scorers in the victory for the Czech Republic in Group B play.

Vladislav Goncharov's power-play goal gave Belarus a 3-2 lead after two periods. But 2:06 into the third period Jiri Smejkal scored to tie the game, and 2:14 later a goal by Radek Vesely put the Czech Republic ahead for good. Defenseman Dominik Masin (Tampa Bay Lightning) closed the scoring with an empty-net goal in the final minute of the third.

Defenseman Stepan Falkovski, a C-rated player to watch for the 2016 draft, and Yegor Sharangovich also scored for Belarus.

The Czechs, with two wins and an overtime loss, are second in Group B with seven points. They play Finland to finish group play. Belarus will play Switzerland in the best-of-3 relegation round.

Recap of today's WJC games

SWEDEN 1, UNITED STATES 0

HELSINKI -- New York Islanders goaltending prospect Linus Soderstrom made 46 saves and Alexander Nylander scored as Sweden shut out the United States 1-0 on Monday in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Nylander, a top prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft, scored on a second-period breakaway. He has one goal and four assists in the tournament to lead Sweden, which is 2-0 in Group A

The United States, which fell to 1-1 after beating Canada in its opener, couldn't score despite having eight power-play chances in the game. They had 20 power-play shots and 14:48 of total power-play time.

It was the first time the U.S. lost to Sweden in the WJC since 1996, ending a 12-game winning streak.

The U.S. will face Switzerland on Wednesday and Denmark on Thursday.

RUSSIA 6, FINLAND 4:

Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild) had a goal and an assist and Yegor Korshkov chipped in with three assists for Russia.

Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) gave the host side the lead when he beat Russian goalie Alexander Georgiev early in the first period at Hartwall Arena. Kaprizov tied it on the power play but Patrik Laine restored Finland's one-goal cushion with 67 seconds left in the opening frame.

Aleksi Saarela (New York Rangers) scored 53 seconds into the second period to make it 3-1 before the Russians scored four times on Finnish netminder Veini Vehvilainen in a span of seven minutes 17 seconds.

Andrei Svetlakov started the rally with a shorthanded goal and Pavel Kraskovski tied the game on the power play. Vladislav Kamenev (Nashville Predators) scored another goal with the man advantage and Alexander Polunin capped the outburst with an even-strength goal.

Saarela halved the Russian lead early in the third period but Radel Fazleyev tacked on an insurance goal for the Russians, who lead Group B with five points. Finland, which opened the tournament with a victory, has three points.

CZECH REPUBLIC 2, SLOVAKIA 0

Dominik Lakatos and David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins) scored and Vitek Vanecek (Washington Capitals) made 18 saves for the shutout.

Pastrnak opened the scoring with a power-play goal late in the second period at Hartwall Arena. Lakatos added an insurance goal midway through the third period.

Slovakia has split its first two games while the Czechs have one win and an overtime loss.

Sunday's World Juniors Scores: Denmark 2, Switzerland 1 | Slovakia 4, Belarus 2

Russia, Sweden among World Juniors winners for Dec. 26

RUSSIA 2, CZECH REPUBLIC 1 (SO)

HELSINKI - Maxim Lazarev scored the only goal in the shootout as Russia edged the Czech Republic 2-1 on Saturday at the world junior hockey championship.

Artur Lauta evened the game at 1-1 with a third-period goal for the Russians (1-0-0).

Michael Spacek scored on a penalty shot to open the scoring for the Czech Republic (0-0-1).

Alexander Georgiev turned aside 24 shots for the win as Vitek Vanecek made 20 saves in defeat.

Czech defenceman Jakub Zboril was ejected at 10:17 of the first period for boarding.

SWEDEN 8, SWITZERLAND 3

HELSINKI - Toronto Maple Leafs prospect William Nylander was injured and did not return for Sweden in its 8-3 victory over Switzerland at the world junior hockey championship on Saturday.

Nylander received an open-ice hit from Switzerlad forward Chris Egli in the first period. Egli received a game misconduct for checking to the head and neck area on the play.

Fellow Maple Leafs prospect Dmytro Timashov led Sweden with two goals and an assist.

Tino Kessler struck twice for Swtizerland (0-1-0) with Noah Rod adding the other.

Linus Soderstrom picked up the win as a goalie, making 15 saves.