World Juniors 2016: Dec. 30 schedule, TV, game thread

Three out of four games isn’t bad as four Chicago Blackhawks prospects will be in action on Day 3 of the World Junior Championship.

The schedule begins with Czech Republic against pointless Belarus. The Czechs enter the contest on the heels of a 2-0 victory over Slovakia. There are no Hawks prospects in this one.

Sweden and Gustav Forsling hit the ice against Denmark. The Swedes have separated themselves from the Group A pack with two wins over Canada and the United States. William Nylander isn’t expected to return, but with Alexander Nylander and Dmytro Timashov among others, the Swedes will have plenty of offensive firepower. Denmark is coming off a 6-1 beating from Canada. Alexander True scored the first goal then Canada responded with six unanswered.

The tournament shifts back to Group B with host Finland and Joni Tuulola against Slovakia and Radovan Bondra. Finland hasn’t had trouble scoring with 10 goals in its first two games, but holding onto a lead is a different story. Finland jumped out to a 3-1 lead early in the second period against Russia, but the Russians scored four straight to end the middle frame, and skated away with a 6-4 win. Finland’s Jesse Puljujarvi, Patrick Laine, Sebastian Aho and Aleski Saarela rank in the top 10 tournament goal scorers.

The day wraps up with Team USA and Nick Schmaltz looking for their second victory when they face Switzerland. The Americans have split their first two games with a 4-2 win over rival Canada, but followed it with a disappointing 1-0 loss to Sweden. Switzerland grabbed its first tournament point with a 3-2 shootout loss to Canada. The Swiss were thrashed by Sweden 8-3 in their opener.

Schedule