Dec. 28 – Ontario Hockey League

By Matt Tidcombe/CHL

Canada returns to action Wednesday at the 2023 World Juniors on what is a quiet day in Halifax and Moncton with just two games on the schedule.

Day 3 schedule:

Slovakia vs. USA — 4 pm ET / 1 p.m. PT
Canada vs. Germany — 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT

The day ahead: 

The USA will play its second game of the tournament as they look to move to 2-0-0 after they beat Latvia 5-2 on Boxing Day. Slovakia, who fell 5-2 to Finland in their first game Tuesday, will face Group B’s toughest two teams in its first two games as they seek a quarterfinal berth after they missed out in 2022.

After a shock 5-2 defeat to Czechia on Boxing Day, Canada will look to right the ship against Germany. Of their 19 previous gold medal victories, five have come when they suffered a round-robin defeat.

Germany took Sweden to the brink in their tournament opener Tuesday but were narrowly beaten 1-0.

Day 2 results: 

Finland 5-2 Slovakia
Sweden 1-0 Germany
Switzerland 3-2 Latvia (SO)
Czechia 9-0 Austria

About yesterday: 

Charlottetown Islanders forward Peter Repcik scored both goals for Slovakia in their 5-2 loss to Finland while Vancouver rookie Samuel Honzek led all forwards in ice time with 21:19.

Quick footwork from @IslandersHKY’s Peter Repcik to put the puck on his stick to bury the rebound! 🇸🇰 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/kHXcE2oyAW

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 27, 2022

Luca Hauf (Edmonton Oil Kings) and Ryan Del Monte (London Knights) suited up for Germany but they, along with their teammates, couldn’t solve Swedish goaltender Carl Lindbom who made 28 saves to record the first shutout of the tournament.

CHL involvement was abound for Switzerland in their shootout win over Latvia. Louis Robin (Val-d’Or Foreurs) and Rodwin Dionicio (Niagara IceDogs) each scored in regulation while Attilio Biasca (Halifax Mooseheads) and Brian Zanetti (Peterborough Petes) both had an assist. In the sixth round of the shootout, and with a goal needed to keep Switzerland alive, Biasca answered before Liekit Reichle had the decisive goal in the seventh round.

Rodwin Dionicio sets up overtime with a blast from the blue line! 🇨🇭 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/XsfcPjOW8H

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 27, 2022

Czechia used a heavy dose of CHL players to thump Austria 9-0 as Matyas Sapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit) led the way with four assists. Gabriel Szturc (Kelowna Rockets) would score twice while captain Stanislav Svozil (Regina Pats) added three assists. David Spacek (Sherbrooke Phoenix) tallied a goal and an assist while Jakub Brabenec (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) scored his first goal of the tournament.

Uh, David Spacek got 𝐀𝐋𝐋 of that shot! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/L4wQCgVXAq

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 28, 2022

Tomas Suchanek (Tri-City Americans) made eight saves to record the shutout and incredibly tallied two assists, one more than Marcel Marcel (Gatineau Olympiques) who also had a goal disallowed. Suchanek now has three assists in two games at the tournament, a new World Juniors record.

Who to watch:

A strong performance between the pipes will be crucial for Canada tonight and Thomas Milic (Seattle Thunderbirds) will hope to provide that as he makes his first start of the tournament against Germany.

Milic stopped all 10 shots he faced Monday in relief of Ben Gaudreau (Sarnia Sting) who had allowed five goals on 17 shots. Before he joined Canada’s World Juniors setup, Milic was 11-2-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .919 save percentage for the Thunderbirds.

CHL leaders:

Where to watch:

Slovakia versus the USA can be seen on TSN 1/4 while Canada’s matchup with Germany is live on TSN 1/4/5.