The top highlights from the quarterfinals at the World Juniors
And then there were four left standing at the World Juniors.
Canada, Sweden, Finland, and Czechia will each play for a medal at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship after emerging victorious from some thrilling quarterfinal action.
Canada ousted Switzerland from the tournament in the do-or-die affair via a 6-3 win. The victory was powered by Dallas Stars prospect Logan Stankoven and Tyson Foerster of the Philadelphia Flyers, who led the way for Canada with three points each (two goals, one assist).
“We got the win and we’re headed to the semifinal,” Canada forward Nathan Gaucher said, according to the IIHF website. “Maybe because it was our fifth game, I’m not sure, but we played a great game when we had to and got the goals when we needed it.”
Czechia stunned Team USA with a 4-2 upset to move on. Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres) had three points (one goal, two assists) to power the Czechs.
The Americans finished the preliminary round with a perfect 4-0 record, and Czechia had won just one of their four games prior to meeting int he quarters.
“We played a big team effort today,” David Spacek said, according to the IIHF. “And I guess everybody just put everything into it, all tears, sweat, and blood. Today, we played a lot together, and we saw ourselves that it was the way for the victory.”
Sweden narrowly avoided an upset of their own with a tight 2-1 win against Latvia. Flyers prospect Emil Andrae broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third to help push Sweden to victory. Finland netted a 5-2 win against Germany thanks in part to an impressive performance from Roby Jarventie (Ottawa Senators), who led the Finns with two goals and two assists.
Czechia will play Canada, and Finland will meet Sweden in semifinal action on Friday.
But before that, here’s a look at the plays that captivated FCHockey scouts from quarterfinal action at the World Juniors:
Kasper Simontaival – Finland
Tic-tac-goal. Kasper Simontaival, selected in the third round (No. 66) of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, finished a nifty three-way passing play with Jarventie and Joel Maatta (Edmonton Oilers) to put Finland on the board against Germany in a tone-setter that helped push the country into the semis.
TIC-TAC-GOAL! Kasper Simontaival connects with Jarventie and Maatta to get @leijonat on the board. #WorldJuniors #FINGER pic.twitter.com/Vna3nHrgKe
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 17, 2022
Peter Hauser – Czechia
Petr Hauser, a fifth-round pick (No. 141) of the New Jersey Devils in 2022, came up clutch for Czechia against Team USA, breaking a 1-1 tie midway through the game with a laser of a shot that he tucked just inside the bar and behind American goaltender Kaidan Mbereko.
That release tho 😮 @narodnitym's Petr Hauser put Czechia up by 1 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/k26kTt7hZE
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 18, 2022
Tyson Foerster – Canada
Foerster put Canada on the board early — just 67 seconds in to be exact — on a nifty cross-ice setup by Stankoven. Stankoven dished a pass through the seam, which Foerster corralled before sniping a shot by sprawling Swiss netminder Noah Patenaude.
Tyson Foerster opens the scoring just 1:07 in! 🇨🇦@HockeyCanada #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/55JgrtnzxA
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 17, 2022
DAY 1: THE TOP HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 1 AT THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 2: THE TOP HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 2 AT THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 3: THE TOP HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 3 AT THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 4: THE TOP HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 4 AT THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 5: THE TOP HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 5 AT THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 6: THE TOP HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 6 AT THE WORLD JUNIORS
QUARTERS: THE TOP HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE QUARTERFINALS AT THE WORLD JUNIORS