The U.S. is set to square off against Sweden today in its first pre-tournament game. Sweden, who will be playing in Group A alongside Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Kazakhstan, finished fifth in the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship after outpacing their 2019 Group B foes 3-1-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L).
Team USA has had a recent advantage on Sweden in World Junior Championship history, going 6-1-1-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in their last 10 games, including a gold-medal win in 2013 and three bronze-medal wins (2007, 2011, 2016).
After today’s pre-tournament game, the U.S. is scheduled to play Germany tomorrow (Dec. 23) at 11:00 am ET. Follow along on Twitter (@USAHockey) for in-game updates, as well as all USA Hockey social media channels for post-game coverage.