USA bests Canada in feisty affair, finishes atop Group A
The United States rode a red-hot power play to defeat Canada 4-1 in a chippy New Year's Eve clash Tuesday at the World Junior Championship to clinch first place in Group A.
With the preliminary round complete, Thursday's quarterfinals are set:
| Higher seed | Time (ET) | Lower seed |
|---|---|---|
| United States 🇺🇸 (A1) | 12 p.m. | Switzerland 🇨🇭 (B4) |
| Sweden 🇸🇪 (B1) | 2:30 p.m. | Latvia 🇱🇻 (A4) |
| Finland 🇫🇮 (A2) | 5 p.m. | Slovakia 🇸🇰 (B3) |
| Czechia 🇨🇿 (B2) | 7:30 p.m. | Canada 🇨🇦 (A3) |
Canada's meeting with Czechia represents a rematch of the 2024 quarters, which the Czechs won stunningly to upset the 2023 tournament champions.
Trey Augustine shined in goal for the Americans on Tuesday, turning aside 38 of 39 shots. Cole Hutson, Danny Nelson, and Cole Eiserman all scored with the man advantage for the U.S. before captain Ryan Leonard added an empty-netter.
Hutson rang one off the post and in on the man advantage to open the scoring with 6:58 left in the first period. The tally snapped Carter George's tournament shutout streak at 133:02. Hutson celebrated by plugging his ears, taunting the Canadian-heavy crowd at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.
"Beating them in their home country, I don't think it gets much better than that," Hutson said postgame, per TSN's Mark Masters.
Nelson pulled the USA back ahead with a wrister from the slot early in the third period, about two and a half minutes after Bradley Nadeau tied it for Canada. Eiserman added the insurance marker with a top-corner snipe at the 13:21 mark of the final frame.
Poor discipline plagued the Canadians in the contest. Anytime they started to generate momentum, a penalty would suck the air out of the arena. Canada was shorthanded on seven occasions and racked up 22 penalty minutes in total.
"It's an individual thing. It's a character thing," Canadian head coach Dave Cameron said of the penalties postgame. "They have to decide, and I'm pretty sure they will. … I think lesson learned."
Canada also struggled to generate offense at five-on-five, with its lone goal coming on the power play. The team has scored just twice at five-on-five in its last three games. While the Canadians won the shot battle 39-28 against the Americans, the U.S. created far more dangerous chances.