Each day throughout the World Junior Championship tournament, Second City Hockey will provide updates on how Blackhawks prospects Antti Saarela and Michal Teply are performing. For more coverage on the tournament, visit the World Juniors section.
Finland 1, United States 0
Saarela dropped down to the third line after spending time as the No. 1 center for Finland. He had no shots on goal and was 6-for-11 on faceoffs in 12:02.
Saarela took a stick to the face by Island Lake native Alex Turcotte (Kings) during a faceoff draw. Saarela was later called for slashing with less than two minutes remaining in the game, but Finland was able to hold on for the win.
Saarela no points, seven shots on goal and is 48 percent on faceoffs (25-for-52).
Sweden 5, Czech Republic 0
Teply had three shots on goal and was on ice for two goals against in 16:24 for the Czech Republic. He had two great scoring chances in the game, with one on a 2-on-1 breakaway when he elected to shoot the puck and another in front of the net off a rebound.
Michal Teply with a shot during a 2-on-1 breakaway. #Blackhawks #WorldJuniors #WJC2020 pic.twitter.com/m8EUlTq0P2
— Brandon (@brandonmcain) January 2, 2020
Michal Teply🇨🇿 comes close to scoring a goal. #Blackhawks #WorldJuniors #WJC2020 pic.twitter.com/tvlKkeMqXW
— Brandon (@brandonmcain) January 2, 2020
Teply finished the tournament with a team-high five points — all assists (three primary) — and was named one of the team’s best three players in the tournament.
#Blackhawks prospect Michal Teply is named one of the Czech Republic’s best three players at #WorldJuniors. The 2019 fourth-round pick had five assists (three primary) during the tournament. #WJC2020 pic.twitter.com/OPnaEjRXtV
— Brandon (@brandonmcain) January 2, 2020
What’s next
Saarela and Finland will play Canada in a rematch of last year’s tournament semifinal at noon Saturday after the Sweden-Russia semifinal.