WJC Today - 12/30/11

TODAY’S ACTION

Two Sea Dogs will be in action today at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

At 4:30pm AST, Charlie Coyle and Team USA take on the Czech Republic in Edmonton. It’s a huge game for the Americans as they try to bounce back from their 4-1 loss to Finland on Wednesday. The contest can be seen on TSN.

At 6:30pm in Calgary, Tomas Jurco and Slovakia take on Sweden in a game that can be seen on TSN2. The Swedes needed a shootout to beat Switzerland on Wednesday.

At 9pm, Denmark takes on Finland on TSN2 and at 11pm Latvia faces Switzerland.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

As expected, Team Canada ran over Denmark last night at the World Junior Hockey Championships, winning 10-2 to improve to 3-0.

Moncton Wildcats defenseman Brandon Gormley had a big night, scoring two goals and was named player of the game. Mark Stone had a pair as well while Scott Harrington, Freddie Hamilton, Brett Connolly, Quinton Howden, Ryan Strome and Brendan Gallagher added singles. Goaltender Mark Visentin made 24 saves for the win.

Michael Bournival was sick and did not play, so Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Beaulieu played as a forward for much of the game. He played okay, firing three shots on goal. He had an even rating and also took a charging penalty in the third period.

Jonathan Huberdeau had an assist, a cross checking penalty, went 1/2 in the faceoff circle, had five shots on goal and was a +3. There was a scary moment in the third period when he collided knee-on-knee with a Denmark player. Both would be okay though.

Canada played well in the first two periods but hit some rough patches in the third period. Penalties continue to be a problem for them. It looked as though Team Canada head coach Don Hay was going throw something when Huberdeau took a penalty late in the third. 

Canada’s next game is Saturday night against Team USA. It is their final game of the preliminary round.

THE OTHER GAME

In the other game, Russia destroyed Latvia 14-0 in Calgary. Yevgeni Kuznetsov had nine points for the Russians.

Quebec Remparts star forward Mikhail Grigorenko left the game in the second period and did not return after hurting his ankle. According to Yahoo!’s Dmitry Chesnokov, the QMJHL’s rookie scoring leader had an x-ray and it showed no fractures in his leg.

Here are the highlights.

STATS

Canada’s top offensive line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Mark Stone and Ryan Strome are among the top scorers in the tournament so far. Stone sits third with six goals and one assist, Strome is fourth with three goals and four assists, and Huberdeau is fifth with a goal and six assists.

American Charlie Coyle sits 10^th in tournament scoring with three goals and an assist.

Photo Credit: Sun Media