The 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship concludes with the championship and third-place game Saturday.
On Tap
All games on NHL Network in US, TSN and RDS in Canada
Czechia vs. Sweden (4 p.m. ET) — Czechia is trying to finish in the top three at the World Juniors for the first time since a third-place finish in 2005. “I think it will be a big thing for our country,” forward Michal Gut said Friday. “We haven’t won a medal in 17 years so it will be a big challenge for us and I think we are ready.” Jan Mysak (Montreal Canadiens), who scored a goal in the 5-2 loss to Canada in the semifinals, has been Czechia’s best player and leads them with seven points (five goals, two assists) in six games. Sweden will look to rebound from a 1-0 loss to Finland in the semifinals, but forward Liam Ohgren (Minnesota Wild) said it shouldn’t be too difficult for his team to find the needed motivation. “We’re professional players,” he said. “Just try to leave this game and try to focus on winning a bronze medal rather than going home without anything. Of course, we want to win the last game of this tournament.”
Canada vs. Finland (8 p.m. ET) — Canada is in the championship game for the third straight tournament, after winning it in 2020 and losing to the United States in 2021. The line of Kent Johnson (Columbus Blue Jackets), Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars) and Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia Flyers) were Canada’s best in the semifinals against Czechia, combining for six points (two goals, four assists). Stankoven also was 19-for-21 on face-offs. “It’s been a lot of fun playing with those two guys and I think we’ve just gotten better and better as the tournament has gone on,” Stankoven said. Canadian forward Mason McTavish (Anaheim Ducks) leads the tournament with eight goals and 15 points. Canada won 6-3 when the teams played in the final game of the preliminary round Aug. 15, but Finland believes it can carry over the defensive effort it had in its 1-0 win against Sweden in the semifinals. “I think we don’t have to overthink on Canada or anything like that,” Finland forward Roni Hirvonen (Toronto Maple Leafs) said. “We just have to do the same thing tonight and a little bit more.”
Quick links
World Junior Championship predictions
World Juniors Championship rosters
Tournament schedule
LNH.com staff writer Guillaume Lepage and NHL.com independent correspondent Derek Van Diest contributed to this report
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