With only two games on the slate on Day 4 of the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championship, Sweden continued its dominance in the preliminary round while Germany was able to push back against Slovakia.
Sweden improved its streak of consecutive preliminary round victories to 54 with a 4-0 victory over Austria. At no point did it look like Sweden was in trouble, as the team held its opponent to just two shots on goal for the first half of the game.
Germany and Slovakia pushed each other to the limit and required an overtime period to get a winner. It was Mario Zimmermann who ended the game with a power play goal to give Germany its first win of the tournament.
There were many players who had big performances on Day 4, but three stood out from the rest.
Third Star: Noel Gunler, Sweden
There were a lot of notable performances from Sweden against Austria, including some great plays by Lucas Raymond and Alexander Holtz. But it was Noel Gunler who showed why he’s one of the premier snipers at the world juniors.
Gunler notched a pair of goals to give him three through two games. Considering how well Wraneschitz was playing, it was going to take a near-perfect shot to beat him — and the Carolina Hurricanes prospect didn’t disappoint.
The first goal came on the power play, as Gunler sniped the perfect shot from the left circle. Just before he shot the puck, he changed the angle of his shot and managed to go under the bar and past Wraneschitz.
Listen to that puck hit the crossbar.@Trekronorse's @GunlerNoel snaps the puck in for a lucky goal. @Canes pic.twitter.com/3uMv2uEZAW
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 28, 2020
Up 2-0, Gunler was the recipient of a perfect behind-the-back pass from New York Islanders prospect Simon Holmstrom, who got the puck to Gunler in stride and he made no mistake beating Wraneschitz with another perfect shot off the bar and in.
Sweden has a day off Tuesday before they go up against Russia on Wednesday; then they conclude the preliminary round against the United States on Thursday.
Second Star: Tim Stuetzle, Germany
How do you celebrate signing your first NHL contract? How about a dominant performance that earns your team its first win at the world juniors?
No player at the tournament has been relied on by his team more than Tim Stuetzle has been for Germany — and finally, the Ottawa Senators pick got rewarded. After two difficult losses to start the preliminary round, Stuetzle had two goals, as well as an assist on the overtime winner to help Germany get its first win over Slovakia.
It didn’t take long for Stuetzle to get on the scoresheet, as he put Germany up 1-0 after the puck deflected off him and into the net. Then, with his team trailing 2-1 in the second period, Stuetzle decided to take matters into his own hands by going end-to-end with a great rush and having his shot bank off defenceman Simon Becar.
Any time the 18-year-old had the puck it looked like something was going to happen — especially in overtime.
After several clearing attempts by Slovakia didn’t go its way, Germany was able to set up on the man advantage. Stuetzle sent the cross-ice pass to Buffalo Sabres prospect John-Jason Peterka — who then found Zimmermann creeping in from the point, and his wrist shot found a way through traffic and past Simon Latkoczy.
Stuetzle finished the game with 31:01 of ice time — including 3:32 in overtime — continuing a trend where the captain has had to step up due to Germany being shorthanded because of positive COVID-19 cases. Stuetzle has seen a lot of success despite the tough situation Germany found itself in to start the tournament.
Germany finishes its preliminary round schedule against Switzerland, while Slovakia will take on Finland (both games are on Wednesday) and look to secure third place in Group A.
First Star: Sebastian Wraneschitz, Austria
It might seem strange to reward the losing goaltender in a 4-0 game, but the Austrian goalie is more than deserving of the honour.
Coming off a game in which he faced 73 shots from the United States, Wraneschitz was presented another matchup against a powerhouse team in Sweden. Austria was outshot 65-6 on Monday and only four of those shots managed to get past Sebastian Wraneschitz, who came away with some incredible saves.
Crazy enough, Wraneschitz wasn’t named the player of the game despite his efforts. You can say that had it not been for their goaltending, it would have been another double-digit loss for Austria, which has a combined 16 shots on goal through two games.
To give you an idea of how much of a workload Wraneschitz has faced through two games, consider this: he has seen 133 shots on goal and has managed a .895 save percentage. The performance from the 18-year-old has drawn a lot of praise, including from NHL defenceman Zach Werenski.
for the team Austria goalie…68 shots, 58 saves in 50 minutes, insane.
— Zach Werenski (@ZachWerenski) December 27, 2020
Given how much attention has been paid toward him at the world juniors, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some NHL teams take a closer look at Wraneschitz going forward.
Austria will take on Russia on Tuesday before completing its preliminary round schedule against the Czech Republic on New Year’s Eve.
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