WJC 2016 Day 6 Recap
Thursday December 31, 2015
Sweden, the United States, Finland and Russia all took victories to close out 2015 on Day 6 of the 2016 World Junior Hockey Championship in Helsinki, Finland on Thursday. The preliminary round drew to a close as teams prepare for quarter-final play on Saturday.
SWEDEN 5, CANADA 2
Sweden wrapped up the preliminary round with a perfect 4-0 record, defeating Canada 5-2 as draft eligible winger Alexander Nylander (Mississauga Steelheads) had a goal and an assist while Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Dmytro Timashov (Quebec Remparts) added an assist of his own.
Canada had goals from Mitchell Stephens (Saginaw Spirit) and Mitchell Marner (London Knights), but were outshot 32-24 and only managed six third period shots on goal to fall to 2-2 in the tournament.
Adrian Kempe, Gustav Forsling and Rasmus Asplund also had a goal and an assist for the Swedes.
The loss marks the first time Canada has lost two round-robin games in regulation since 1998.
Canada squares off with host Finland in quarter-final action on Saturday while Sweden prepares to face Slovakia.
UNITED STATES 4, DENMARK 1
Draft eligible winger Matthew Tkachuk (London Knights) had a pair of assists and OHL graduate Sonny Milano had a goal and an assist of his own as the United States defeated Denmark 4-1.
Goaltender Brandon Halverson (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) made 16 saves to record the victory as the Americans wrapped up the preliminary round with a 3-1 record.
The United States takes on the Czech Republic in quarter-final play on Saturday.
FINLAND 5, CZECH REPUBLIC 4
Finland snuck by the Czech Republic 5-4 in a closely contested matchup that saw draft eligible winger Jesse Puljujarvi increase his tournament scoring lead with two more goals to give him five goals, seven assists and 12 points through four games.
The Finns wrap up the preliminary round with a 3-1 record as forward Julius Nattinen (Barrie Colts) found the back of the net and defenceman Olli Juolevi (London Knights) had two assists. Juolevi leads all defencemen in tournament scoring with six assists in four contests.
Jiri Smejkal (Moose Jaw Warriors) and Michael Spacek (Red Deer Rebels) scored for the Czechs while defenceman Dominik Masin (Peterborough Petes) registered an assist.
Finland takes on Canada in quarter-final action on Saturday while the Czech Republic battles the United States.
RUSSIA 2, SLOVAKIA 1
Russia staked out a 2-0 lead on goals by Artur Lauta and Egor Rykov and never looked back, defeating Slovakia 2-1.
Defencemen Aleksandar Mikulovich (Niagara IceDogs) and Ivan Provorov (Brandon Wheat Kings) both had assists in the victory as Russia outshot Slovakia 27-21.
The Russians face Denmark in quarter-final play on Saturday while Slovakia prepares to face Sweden.
For full coverage of the 2016 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, including updates and schedules, visit worldjunior2016.com or hockeycanada.ca.
