With day three of the 2023 World Junior Championship now behind us, all 10 teams in the tournament officially have two preliminary round games under their belts.
Wednesday’s schedule was quieter than the previous two days in Halifax and Moncton, with just a pair of matchups slated: Slovakia vs. USA up first, followed by Canada vs. Germany.
While Team USA were coming off a 5-2 win over Latvia on Monday, Slovakia found themselves on the other side of the equation, looking to bounce back from a 5-2 loss to Finland on Tuesday. Meeting at the Avenir Centre, the Group B teams initially appeared evenly matched as they battled over the course of the first period.
Slovakia opened the scoring just two minutes into the first and the US responded with two consecutive goals to finish the opening period up 2-1. Slovakia however, took complete control of the game during the second, scoring three unanswered goals in three minutes on Kaidan Mbereko.
USA’s bad luck persisted as they finished off the period down 4-2 and, on the penalty kill, after Kenny Connors received a game misconduct for boarding. To start the third, the US came out looking reenergized and were successful in evading another Slovakia goal during their five-minute advantage.
Even so, USA’s efforts over the final 20 were not enough and Slovakia earned their first win, ultimately taking the game 6-3 in what many would call an upset. It marked the fourth time Slovakia has beaten USA at the World Juniors – the last time falling on this day exactly five years ago, when they won 3-2 in Buffalo.
USA will look to get back on track on Thursday when they face Switzerland, while Slovakia faces Latvia on Friday.
Over at Scotiabank Centre, Group A teams Canada and Germany went into their game in search of their first three points of the tournament. Germany was blanked by Sweden the day prior and Canada had been upset by Czechia, who took down the hockey powerhouse 5-2 on Boxing Day.
Opening the scoring in their second consecutive game, Canada found themselves on the board first and lead 3-1 over the Germans heading into the first intermission. An unbelievable second period for the Canadians saw the team add another six goals to their lead, four of which were scored over the span of Germany’s five-minute major. After a few more third-period goals from both sides, Canada walked away with an 11-2 win – and their confidence fully restored.
Up next, Canada takes on Austria for the second half of their back-to-back as Germany will continue the search for their first win on Friday, also against Austria.
3rd Star: Tyler Boucher, USA
The US’ first powerplay goal of the 2023 World Juniors belongs to 19-year-old Boucher, which opened the scoring for his team with just their second shot on goal. His fantastic net-front presence paid off just under five minutes into the first and while it was challenged for goaltender interference, the play on the ice stood, resulting in a delay of game penalty for Slovakia.
An Ottawa Senators prospect who was drafted 10th overall in 2021, Boucher’s second goal of the contest also came on the man advantage. Finding the rebound off a shot on net by Cutter Gauthier, Boucher was able to bury the puck to cut into the Slovaks’ lead with less than five minutes to go in the third period. The two goals were Boucher’s first goals, and points, of the tournament, and his performance Wednesday earned him player of the game honours for USA.
2nd Star: Dylan Guenther, Canada
Loaned by the Arizona Coyotes for the tournament after collecting 11 points in 21 games in the NHL, Guenther netted a hat trick within the first 40 minutes of Canada’s game. The 19-year-old put his money where his mouth is after he challenged his own team for their performance on Monday, saying “We’re not going to ‘Michigan’ our way to the final.” He opened the game’s scoring on the powerplay, getting past Simon Wolf thanks to some incredible passing from Connor Bedard and Olen Zellweger.
Guenther’s second of the game was also scored on the man advantage, when he shot the puck from the left side face-off circle, after once again receiving a direct pass from Bedard. Guenther’s hat trick was completed less than three minutes later off an almost identical-looking play – from the circle off a pass from Bedard.
1st Star: Connor Bedard, Canada
If you read through the last section, it should come as no surprise that Connor Bedard pulled off the most impressive performance of the day, earning seven points in Canada’s win. With three goals and four assists, the 17-year-old phenom tied the Team Canada record for most points during a World Junior game.
Uncontested as the projected first overall pick for the upcoming 2023 NHL Draft, Bedard had two points in the first, four in the second and one in the third. He completed a hat trick less than halfway through the second period, and his four helpers on the night were all primary assists.
After two games in this year’s tournament, he needs only two more goals to tie Jordan Eberle as Canada’s all-time goal leader at the World Juniors. With eight points, he currently tops the scoring leaders this year across all teams, three points ahead of Czechia’s Stanislav Svozil. Bedard was inevitably awarded player of the game for Canada.
Honorable mentions:
Both Šimon Nemec of Slovakia and Olen Zellweger of Canada recorded three assists in their respective games, while Canada’s Logan Stankoven also collected three points Wednesday, in the form of a goal and two assists. Germany’s Wolf undoubtedly deserves a shoutout for facing 39 shots over the course of Canada’s 40-minute offensive onslaught, of which he was able to stop 30.
