Ralfs Bergmanis and what we learned from Day 6 of the World Juniors
The sixth day of the World Juniors gave us our first real upset of the tournament and a matchup of two powers.
Latvia shocked the tournament, and Czechia, with a 5-2 win. The victory secured a seemingly improbable berth in the quarterfinal of the World Juniors and eliminated the undermanned Slovakia squad in the process. Slovakia was downed in a lopsided 9-3 result by Finland, contributing to their woes. Team USA, meanwhile, took first place in Group B after dispatching of Sweden 3-2.
First and foremost, though, Day 6 gave us a reminder of why we love seeing countries like Latvia in the event.
Here’s what we learned on the sixth day of action at the tournament:
Bergmanis highlights Latvia’s massive World Juniors win
Latvia went head-to-head against Czechia in a huge game with playoff implications and, while most people counted out the Latvian squad, they shocked the hockey world and certainly the World Juniors pulling off the first true upset of the tournament. Starting goaltender Bruno Bruveris was phenomenal yet again for Latvia, but the highlight performance was by defenseman and team captain Ralfs Bergmanis. The blueliner recorded a hat-trick and displayed some great poise and puck skills from the back end. With the game tied 2-2 and Czechia gaining momentum after scoring the tying goal, Bergmanis took over and scored three straight goals to seal the win for Latvia.
Their win was their first ever preliminary round victory at the World Juniors and provided the best storyline from Sunday’s slate.
🇱🇻 @lhf_lv: A Cinderalla story#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/iI1SQx3Bjj
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 15, 2022
Trio records three points each in Finland’s blowout win
Finland kicked off Sunday’s slate of action with a big 9-3 win over the Slovakian squad. All tournament long, Finland has been getting a balanced attack from their roster and this game was no different. A trio of Finns — Aatu Raty (New York Islanders), Kasper Simontaival (Los Angeles Kings), and Kasper Puutio (Florida Panthers) — all recorded three-point performances in the game. Raty and Puutio each scored a goal and added two assists, and Simontaival scored twice while adding an assist.
The Finns look like a solid all-around roster after their first three games and are prepped for a big showdown against Canada on Monday afternoon.
🇫🇮 @leijonat stayed strong in the powerplay to capture a 9-3 victory over @hockeyslovakia#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/j7WxlTOTfH
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 15, 2022
Coronato helps power the USA over Sweden
Matt Coronato has been one of the most consistent players for the USA throughout their round robin matchups and that was no different on Sunday night. The American forward, picked No. 13 in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames, came into the game against Sweden with at least a point in every game, and in the biggest game of the tournament so far he came through in a big way. Coronato scored twice, helping the Americans beat Sweden and helped Team USA clinch the top seed in Group B.
Coronato has notched six points (four goals, two assists) through their four round robin matchups.
WHAT A SHOT 😮@MattCoronato | #WorldJuniors 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/RBAiI2RfJo
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) August 15, 2022
DAY 1: JOAKIM KEMELL AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED ON DAY 1 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 2: CONNOR BEDARD AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED ON DAY 2 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 3: MASON MCTAVISH AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM DAY 3 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 4: OSKAR OLAUSSON AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED ON DAY 4 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 5: WYATT KAISER AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM DAY 5 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 6: RALFS BERGMANIS AND WHAT WE LEARNED FROM DAY 6 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS