2025 World Juniors daily: Dec. 29

Czechia and the USA were victorious on Day 3 of the 2024 World Juniors while Sunday will see a quartet of games from Ottawa.

Day 3 results:

Czechia 14-2 Kazakhstan
USA 5-1 Latvia

About yesterday: 

Czechia collected its second win of Group B action with an emphatic 14-2 win over Kazakhstan. Kelowna’s Jakub Stancl (STL) had five points (3G, 2A), Brampton’s Jakub Fibigr (SEA) had four assists, Lethbridge’s Vojtech Port (ANA) had three helpers and Edmonton’s Adam Jecho (STL) also scored. The 14 goals tied Czechia’s World Juniors record for most goals in a single game. As for Kazakhstan, Spokane’s Asanali Sarkenov played 15:26 in his World Juniors debut.

In the second contest, the USA moved to 2-0-0 after a 5-1 victory over Latvia, who 24 hours earlier beat Canada in a shootout. Erie’s Carey Terrance played 13:34 in the win for the defending champions, who are the only team with a perfect record in Group A.

CHL player of the day:

Czechia’s Jakub Stancl (STL) starred in their 14-2 win over Kazakhstan. The Rockets forward scored twice in the second period and then completed his hat-trick with 1:42 left in regulation. Additionally, he added two assists for a five-point effort. In two games, the 19-year-old has four goals and seven points to lead the tournament in scoring.

The 12th overall pick in the 2023 CHL Import Draft, Stancl has adapted to the CHL well with 11 goals and 32 points in just 26 games. The 106th overall pick by St. Louis in the 2023 NHL Draft, Stancl won bronze at last year’s World Juniors.

Day 4 schedule: 

Switzerland vs. Sweden – 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT
USA vs. Finland – 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT
Czechia vs. Slovakia – 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT
Canada vs. Germany – 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT

The day ahead: 

Day 4 will kickoff with a contest between two-win Sweden and two-loss Switzerland. Sweden have 13 goals in their two wins thus far and are solely focused on the no. 1 seed in Group B although that will likely come down to their clash with Czechia on Dec. 31. Switzerland have only conceded seven goals in its two losses but their biggest game will likely be Dec. 31 when they will battle Kazakhstan for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The first matchup in Group A of the day sees the USA face Finland. The Americans have scored 15 goals in two contests and face a Finnish side that is starving for goals; they’ve only managed to find the back of the net three times in their first two games. Finland were shutout 4-0 by Canada on Boxing Day but beat Germany 3-1 on Friday to earn their first win of the tournament.

Czechia will look to remain perfect when they face 1-1-0 Slovakia. After their 14-goal output Saturday, Czechia’s 19 goals leads the tournament while they sit atop Group B alongside the aforementioned Sweden. Slovakia edged past Switzerland in their last contest and are vying for quarterfinal seeding where they will want to avoid a fourth-place finish and contest against the Group A winners.

After their shootout loss to Latvia Friday, Canada return to action against 0-2-0 Germany. The hosts will be without Erie’s Matthew Schaefer (2025) who will miss the rest of the tournament after he suffered a shoulder injury two days ago. In his place, Seattle’s Sawyer Mynio (VAN) will draw in while it is expected that Brampton’s Carson Rehkopf (SEA) will make his tournament debut. Germany have been outscored 13-5 thus far but their quarterfinal aspirations are well within reach if they can collect a regulation win over its final two games.

Where to watch:

Switzerland and Sweden can be seen live on TSN 1 while Finland’s contest with USA is available on TSN 4. TSN 1 will show Czechia and Slovakia while Canada’s matchup with Germany is live on TSN 1/4.