There were only two games on Saturday at the IIHF World Junior Championships, but the pair of games regarding some of the tournament’s lesser lights seem to set up a really hectic and eventful day on Sunday.
Here’s how things shape up heading into Sunday’s competition.

Results at a glance

Switzerland beat Norway by a 6-2 score [Group B]: This game was close early on with Norway leading early, but the Swiss pulled away after the first period. Switzerland received goals from Simon Meier, Leo Braillard, Jonas Taibel, Rodwin Dioncio (two) and Thierry Schild. Norway got goals from Martin Johnsen and Patrik Dalen.
Latvia beat Germany by 6-2 score [Group A]: This game was never all that close. Latvia got goals from Eriks Mateiko, Rodzers Bukarts, Peteris Bulans, Rainers Darzins and Sandis Vilmanis (two). Germany got scores from Samuel Schindler and Norwin Panocha.

A look ahead

Group A’s standings as of beginning of Sunday:
  1. Sweden – 9 points (3-0-0-0)
  2. Canada – 6 points (2-0-0-1)
  3. Finland – 3 points (1-0-0-2)
  4. Latvia – 3 points (1-0-0-3)
  5. Germany – 3 points (1-0-0-2)
Sweden’s locked into first place by virtue of tiebreakers (the first tiebreaker is head-to-head results). Barring a regulation loss to Germany, Canada’s locked into second place by virtue of tiebreakers. Latvia’s finished their games, so the only real question is if Germany can somehow leapfrog them into the final knockout stage spot with a point against Canada.
Group B’s standings as of beginning of Sunday:
  1. Slovakia – 9 points (3-0-0-0)
  2. United States – 8 points (2-1-0-0)
  3. Czechia – 4 points (1-0-1-1)
  4. Switzerland – 3 points (1-0-0-2)
  5. Norway – 0 points (0-0-0-4)
Slovakia is in first place, for now, with the only team possibly being able to leap-frog them being their Sunday opponent, the USA. A win of any kind locks Slovakia into top spot, but any American win finds them in top spot. The same situation unfolds with the third and fourth spots: a Czechia win of any kind over Switzerland locks them into third, a Swiss win jumps them over Czechia.
Group B seems lot more chaotic than Group A in terms of final day shuffling.
Sunday’s games:
  • 4 a.m. MT: Slovakia vs. the United States [Group B]
  • 6:30 a.m. MT: Finland vs. Sweden [Group A]
  • 9 a.m. MT: Czechia vs. Switzerland [Group B]
  • 11:30 a.m. MT: Canada vs. Germany [Group A]
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