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The United States has won six straight games and outscored its opponents 39-13, aiming for its sixth gold medal and first since 2021. Gauthier (12 points, 10 assists), Brindley (9 points, 6 goals), Howard (7 points, 5 goals) and Snageld (7 points, 5 goals). Hutson has six assists and leads his country in average ice time (23:24).
Trey Augustin (Detroit Red Wings) made 19 saves in Thursday’s 3-2 semifinal win over Finland and is expected to start. Augustin won all three of his starts in the tournament with a 1.67 goals-against average and .940 save percentage.
Sweden will be playing their 14th gold medal match at the World Juniors. He won in 1981 and 2012. So far she has held six tournaments, of which she has won medals in three events, silver twice (1993, 2014) and bronze once (1979). did.
They have outscored their opponents 25-8 in six games in the tournament, including a 5-4 shootout loss to Finland in the preliminary round.
For Sweden, Axel Sandin Pellikka (Red Wings, 5 points, 2 goals, average ice time 20 minutes 38 seconds), Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks, 20 minutes 29 seconds), Theo Lindstein (Blues, 8 points, 2 goals, avg. ice time) He made great strides defensively with his 6 assists. , 19:50), Tom Wilander (Canucks, 19:56), Mattias Jabelid (San Jose Sharks, 5 points, 17:13).
Offensively, Jonathan Reckelimäki (Canucks, 9 points, 6 goals) has one point in all six games of the tournament and is coming off a three-game scoring streak. Noah Ostlund (Buffalo Sabers, 9 points, 6 assists), Felix Unger Solm (Carolina Hurricanes, 6 points, 5 assists), and Otto Stenberg (Blues, 8 points, 4 goals) also contributed.
Sweden enters with a top-ranked power play (45 percent, nine of 20 games). The United States owns her second-best penalty kill in the tournament (85.7%, 12-for-14).
Swedish goaltender Hugo Haverid (2024 NHL draft candidate), who is expected to be a starter, made 47 saves in the gold medal match against the United States at the 2022 U-18 World Championship, with 4 wins, 0.98 GAA, and a save. He has a .952 percentage and two shutouts in four games. game.
“Hugo is a good goalkeeper and we’re looking forward to playing with him…it’s going to be a lot of fun,” McGroarty said.
bronze medal game
Finland vs. Czech Republic (9 a.m. ET)
Finland had won three games in a row, but lost to the United States 3-2 in the semifinals. He has finished in the top three in three of the past five World Junior Championships (gold medal in 2019, silver in 2022, bronze in 2021) and is aiming for his sixth gold medal.
The country has been led offensively by captain Jere Lasila (2024 draft target), who has scored 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 6 games. Kasper Haltunen (Sharks) got his six points (3 goals), and the Finn got solid play and big appearances from defensemen Kasper Kronunmi (Nashville Predators) and Otto Sarin (Los Angeles Kings). He earned minutes and averaged 22 minutes, 21 seconds and 19 minutes, 43 seconds per game. Ice time for each game.
Goaltender Niklas Kokko (Seattle Kraken) made 27 saves despite losing to the USA in the semifinals. Noah Bali (eligible for 2024) has one win in two games, a 1.94 GAA, and a .926 save percentage.
The Czech Republic defeated Canada 3-2 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday and lost to Sweden 5-2 in the semifinals on Thursday. They won the silver medal after a 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the 2023 WJC Championship Game, but it was their first top-three finish since winning the bronze medal in 2005.
The Czech offense is paced by captain Jiri Klich (Buffalo Sabers), who has eight points (four goals) in six games. Matthias Merovski (2024 NHL Draft eligible) 8 points (7 assists), Eduardo Sale (Kraken) 6 points (3 goals), Dominik Lymon (2024 NHL Draft eligible) 6 points (5 assists), defense Man Thomas Hamara (Ottawa Senators) had four points (three assists) and averaged a team-best 23 minutes, 33 seconds on ice.
Goaltender Michael Hrabal (Arizona Coyotes) started every game for the Czech Republic, posting three wins, a 3.14 GAA, and an .886 save percentage.
quick links
World Junior Championship predictions
Group A preview
Group B preview
World Junior Championship Roster
Tournament schedule
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