Flames at World Juniors Day 4: big wins all around

After an off day on Monday, Tuesday was the fourth day of preliminary round competition for Calgary Flames prospects at the World Juniors! All the Flames prospects dressed, but only three were involved on the ice.

After a very close win over Russia on Monday, the Czechs got spanked by the Americans on Tuesday. Spencer Knight started in goal for the USA and was rock solid after being super shaky against the Russians on Christmas Day.

Dustin Wolf backed up Knight.

The Americans improved to 2-1 so far. They close out the round robin section of things on New Year’s Eve against Sweden. They’re virtually assured a spot in the quarterfinals, with seeding in Group B currently a bit chaotic.

The Swiss were out-gunned from the get-go. Quinton Byfield, the second overall pick by Los Angeles back in October, had six points. He’s pretty good.

Jakob Pelletier played 13:02 and had a pair of goals, an assist, two shots, and was plus-3.

Connor Zary played 7:23 and had an assist, a penalty, three shots, and was plus-1.

Canada improved to 3-0 thus far. They finish off their prelim games on New Year’s Eve against Finland. They will be battling to cement the top spot in Group A.

In the final game of the day, Russia gave the plucky Austrians a thumping. Yan Kuznetsov played 16:29, fifth among Russia’s defenders, and was even with zero points.

Russia improved to 2-1 after three outings. They close out their schedule on Wednesday against Sweden. As with the Americans, the Russians are assured a quarterfinal spot but their seeding is very much up in the air.