Mikhail Grigorenko’s life has drastically changed since his bronze medal finish at the 2013 WJC: • Jan 29, 2013: Buffalo Sabres informed Grigorenko that he will be staying with the team for the rest of the season • That SAME DAY: Grigorenko scored his 1st career NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs • TWO days later: ... Read More »
Every year over the Christmas break, hockey fans across Canada and around the world gather to watch the best teenage players in the game represent their countries at the World Junior Hockey Championship tournament. And this year was no different with many exciting games and talented players showing off their skills for two weeks straight. But there was one difference: ... Read More »
A spirited rivalry was renewed Saturday as Team Canada and Team Russia took to the ice. Once the dust had settled it was Team Russia securing a victory over the Canadians in over time with a final score of 6-5. Less than two minutes into the extra frame, Valeri Nichushkin, capitalizing on an error from Canadian defenseman Morgan Rielly, shot ... Read More »
Two pre-tournament games followed by four preliminary games and two playoff round games, and it all came down to this morning’s gold medal game against the Swedish National Junior Team. Let’s first recap the games leading up to today. Preliminary Round Game 1 of the preliminary one was a dominant one for Team USA. 8 different players each scored a ... Read More »
The atmosphere was obviously amped for this bronze-medal game, in what many thought would actually be the gold-medal game. Possibly trying to emanate the Mighty Ducks from the movies, Russia came out of the gates wearing their red jerseys, but switched to their whites. It wasn’t really that dramatic, though, because they switched jerseys before the game started, and only ... Read More »
The 2012 WJC defending champs looked well on their way to taking it all, but in the end they came up just short of taking home the gold. Team Sweden lost 3-1 in the Gold Medal game against Team USA, killing their chance to be the World Junior champions back to back years. It comes as a surprise to some, ... Read More »
Team Canada laid it all on the line in their bronze medal game against Russia, but in the end they came up short and lost 6-5 in overtime. After beating Russia earlier in the round robin, Canada may have had a slight edge going into this one, but both teams had the players to win. Canada spent the whole game ... Read More »
It took Germany six attempts to win their first game of the 2013 World Junior Championships but they certainly picked the right time to do it. Led by two goals from Leon Draisaitl and 23 saves by Marvin Cupper, the Germans sent Latvia out of the WJC for at least a year with a 5-2 victory. Germany entered the game ... Read More »
Team Canada received an unwelcome surprise in their semi-final game against Team USA, losing 5-1 and all hope of competing for a gold medal. After sweeping through four game in the round-robin, including a 2-1 win against this same American team, Canada entered the semi-final matchup poised to beat their continental rivals and move on to the finals. That did not happen and for a number ... Read More »
It was never meant to be easy for Russia; playing back-to-back games, and having to beat the defending champions, Sweden, to advance to the gold-medal game. Continuing with the theme of yesterday’s game – penalties – Nikita Kucherov took a hooking penalty a minute into the game, but Russia killed it off. But Pavel Koledov took down Swede captain Filip ... Read More »
Following Monday’s win against Team Slovakia, the United States advanced to the playoff round. The quarterfinal game matchup was determined to be against the Czech Republic. Team USA, coming off a 9-3 win Monday, faced a Czech team with a record of 2-1-0-1 (2 wins, 1 overtime win, and 1 loss).2 The first period saw a lot of action at ... Read More »
I think everyone thought this game would be pretty one-sided, but it was, surprisingly, and incredibly a close game throughout. Yaroslav Kosov had a breakaway a little more than a minute into the game, but the 6’6” Eliot Antonietti denied him on a great defensive play on the backcheck. Switzerland’s strategy, like Germany’s, seemed to be to attempt to bully ... Read More »
The game may have not been televised but Germany should be thrilled that no one watched this performance. In the first game of the relegation round, Finland stomped on Germany 8-0. Ville Pokka scored two goals and Finland managed five in the third period to close out the Germans. After scouring all corners of the internet early this morning, I ... Read More »
It was win or go home for Team USA this morning. The winner of this elimination game would advance to the playoff round, joining Canada and Russia in their Group. The pace of the game from the get-go was intense. After multiple rushes both ways ended in intercepted passes, Cole Bardreau was given a perfect pass from Ryan Hartman through ... Read More »
The first think one might notice about the game is that the crowd is really into it. The second thing one might notice is that these are probably the two best teams and the probable gold-medal matchup. The third thing one might notice is that, who needs the NHL? This was a great game, especially the first period, that would ... Read More »
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