Each day throughout the World Junior Championship tournament, Second City Hockey will provide updates on how the Blackhawks’ prospects are performing. For more coverage on the tournament, visit the World Juniors 2019 section on the main page or secondcityhockey.com/world-juniors-2019.
Czech Republic 2, Switzerland 1 (OT)
The opening game of the tournament featured two Blackhawks prospects facing off against each other, with Swiss center Philipp Kurashev (2018 fourth-rounder) and Czech defenseman Jakub Galvas (2017 fifth-rounder).
Each player recorded a secondary assist on their respective team’s first goal of the tournament and led their team in ice time. Galvas had one shot on goal in 24:59 and Kurashev had three shots on net in 24:53.
@Oshawa_Generals Nando Eggenberger scores on the rebound and opens the score for Switzerland. Assists from Sven Leuenberger and Philipp Kurashev #WJC2019 #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/BMBxMXLoAe
— Dennis Schellenberg (@ScoutingFactory) December 26, 2018
Up next: Switzerland vs. Canada (7 p.m. Thursday), Czech Republic vs. Russia (7 p.m. Friday)
United States 2, Slovakia 1
American center Evan Barratt (2017 third-rounder) scored the game-winning goal at 5:42 of the third period. Barratt also helped screen the goaltender for Team USA’s first goal. The Penn State sophomore was named the team’s player of the game and had a game-high seven shots on goal in 15:43.
Evan Barratt is the best player on the ice and you can’t tell me otherwise pic.twitter.com/UGp5M4GXyK
— Patrick Burns (@PatrickBurns_) December 27, 2018
Up next: U.S. vs. Kazakhstan (9:30 p.m. Friday)
Canada 14, Denmark 0
Canadian defenseman Ian Mitchell (2017 second-rounder) had two secondary assists and winger MacKenzie Entwistle (2017 third-rounder via Arizona trade) scored the final goal at 16:47 of the third period.
MacKenzie Entwistle extends the @HC_WJC lead to 14-0 with a goal in the final minutes of the 3rd period! 🇨🇦#REPRESENT #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/7hxesMi5vh
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2018
Up next: Canada vs. Switzerland (7 p.m. Thursday)
Sweden 2, Finland 1
Swedish defenseman Adam Boqvist (2018 first-rounder) had secondary assists on both of Erik Brännström’s (Vegas 2017 first-rounder) goals in the Three Crowns’ 45th straight round robin victory.
Erik Brannstrom (VGK) puts Sweden up 1-0. pic.twitter.com/JUQIvzN3Qp
— pelletier, jakob (@DraftLook) December 27, 2018
Erik Brannstrom (VGK) with his second of the night, putting Sweden up 2-0. pic.twitter.com/5paakDX1PG
— pelletier, jakob (@DraftLook) December 27, 2018
Boqvist nearly scored a goal on a wraparound attempt. He tied for the game-high in shots on goal with six in 15:32.
Ukko-Pekka Luukonen with the incredible save on the wrap around pic.twitter.com/S0YksHpkSr
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) December 27, 2018
Finnish defenseman Henri Jokiharju (2017 first-rounder) had one tripping penalty that led to Brännström’s first goal. Jokiharju also had three shots on goal and a team-high 25:06 ice time.
Nice play from Henri Jokiharju to prevent a lights-out chance in front of the net for Sweden. pic.twitter.com/uUzEJCYH3J
— pelletier, jakob (@DraftLook) December 27, 2018
Up next: Sweden vs. Slovakia (5:30 p.m. Thursday), Finland vs. Kazakhstan (9:30 p.m. Thursday)