TONIGHT'S GAME
The United States faces defending champion Canada today at Helsinki Ice Hall (capacity: 8,200) to open Group A play at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship. Today’s game will be televised in the U.S. on NHL Network.

SERIES VS. CANADA
The U.S. has a 6-1-3-29-3 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) record against Canada all-time in the IIHF World Junior Championship. Canada has won eight of the previous ten games in the series. Six of the last 10 games have been decided by a single goal with three having tone to overtime (two of those to a shootout). For a series breakdown, click here.

PRE-TOURNAMENT RECAP
The United States, who arrived in Helsinki the afternoon of Dec. 24, began its journey towards the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship with 27 players convening in Boston for a team meeting the night of Dec. 14. The U.S. had a camp at Boston University from Dec. 15-18 that culminated with a 4-0 victory over UMass in a pre-tournament game at Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Dec. 18. The U.S. then moved to Vierumaki, Finland, on Dec. 19, where it continued preparation for the tournament through Dec. 24. The time in Vierumaki included a 3-2 victory over Finland in a pre-tournament game at Iksu Arena in Lahti on Dec. 22.

LEADERSHIP GROUP
Zach Werenski is the second youngest player ever to captain a U.S. National Junior Team behind Jack Eichel, who captained the squad last year. Louie Belpedio, Auston Matthews and Colin White are the alternate captains. Werenski was an alternate captain for the 2014 U.S. National Under-17 Team that claimed the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Belpedio served as captain for the 2014 U.S. National Under-18 Team that captured the gold medal at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship in Lappeenranta, Finland. Additionally, Matthews and White were alternate captains for the gold medal-winning 2015 U.S. National Under-18 Team that competed in the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship in Zug and Lucerne, Switzerland.