The U.S. National Junior Team faces Sweden in its second and final pre-tournament game ahead of the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. The game will be live streamed on HockeyTV.com with live updates avialable on Twitter at @usahockey.
THE SERIES VS. SWEDEN
All-time, the U.S. is 14-1-0-15-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) against Sweden. The two teams last met in the 2016 event, where the Swedes claimed a 1-0 preliminary round win before the two teams met in the bronze medal game, which the U.S. won, 8-3.
The U.S. enter the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship as hosts and defending gold medalists while Sweden come into the tournament having reached a medal game in 11 straight World Junior Championships, earning fourth place three consecutive years after silver medals in 2013 and 2014 and gold in 2012.
LAST MEETING: USA 8, SWE 3 (2016 Bronze)
The U.S. avenged a 1-0 preliminary round setback to defeat Sweden in the bronze medal game. Anders Bjork (Mequon, Wis.), Ryan Donato (Scituate, Mass.) and Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) each scored twice and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 35 shots in the win.
GETTING DOWN TO 23
The journey to identifying this year's U.S. National Junior Team started on Dec. 5, when USA Hockey unveiled its 28-player preliminary roster exclusively on NHL Network's "NHL Now."
Players and staff arrived in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 14, and that night walked to Nationwide Arena to take in the Metropolitan Division tilt between the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders.
Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), who captained the U.S. National Junior Team to a bronze medal at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland, opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets in an eventual 6-4 home victory.
Starting Dec. 15, the team conducted three days of practices at the OhioHealth Ice Haus before skating two days at Nationwide Arena, home of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. After its skate on Dec. 19, the U.S. shifted camp to Jamestown, New York.
The U.S. skated in its first pre-tournament game on Dec. 20, registered a 14-0 win over Belarus. Overall, 11 different U.S. players scored and 16 players tallied at least one point.
In its attempt to reach its final 23-player roster, the U.S. has so far returned two players to their respective teams, including defensemen Cole Hults (Stoughton, Wis./Penn State Univ.) on Dec. 19 and Reilly Walsh (North Falmouth, Mass./Harvard Univ.) on Dec. 21.
WORLD JUNIORS SUCCESS FOR TEAM USA
Over the last 10 IIHF World Junior Championships, no country has won more gold medals than Team USA's three (2010, 2013, 2017). In total, the U.S. has claimed five medals, including three gold and two bronze (2011, 2016), which is the best 10-year stretch in World Junior Championship history for the U.S.
In addition, since a quarterfinal loss to Russia at the 2015 event, the U.S. has registered a 10-2-0-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record, which is the best U.S. performance over a two-tournament span in World Junior Championship history.
Date | Opponent | Location | Result | U.S. Player of Game |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wed., Dec. 20 | Belarus Pre-Tournament Game |
Northwest Arena Jamestown, N.Y. |
W, 14-0 | NA |
Fri., Dec. 22 | Sweden Pre-Tournament Game |
Erie Insurance Arena Erie, Pa. |
W, 3-1 | NA |
Tues., Dec. 26 | Denmark Preliminary Round |
KeyBank Center Buffalo, N.Y. |
W, 9-0 | Casey Mittelstadt |
Thurs., Dec. 28 | Slovakia Preliminary Round |
KeyBank Center Buffalo, N.Y. |
L, 2-3 | Brady Tkachuk |
Fri., Dec. 29 | Canada Preliminary Round |
New Era Field* Orchard Park, N.Y. |
W (SO) 4-3 | Casey Mittelstadt |
Sun., Dec. 31 | Finland Preliminary Round |
KeyBank Center Buffalo, N.Y. |
W, 5-4 | Joey Anderson |
Tues., Jan. 2 | Russia Quarterfinals |
KeyBank Center Buffalo, N.Y. |
W, 4-2 | Kieffer Bellows |
Thurs., Jan. 4 | Sweden Semifinals |
KeyBank Center Buffalo, N.Y. |
L, 2-4 | Josh Norris |
Fri., Jan. 5 | Czech Republic Bronze-Medal Game |
KeyBank Center Buffalo, N.Y. |
W, 9-3 | Trent Frederic |