OTTAWA, Ontario — In an impressive display during the world junior hockey quarterfinals, Boston College teammates James Hagens and Ryan Leonard each found the net twice as the defending champion United States decisively defeated Switzerland 7-2 on Thursday.
Adding to the scoring effort, players from other college teams contributed, with Brandon Svoboda from Boston University, Danny Nelson from Notre Dame, and Zeev Buium from Denver also scoring goals. In goal, Hampton Slukynsky from Western Michigan made 17 saves, while Gabe Perreault of Boston College showcased his playmaking skills, providing three assists in the game.
U.S. coach David Carle expressed confidence in his team’s performance, stating, “Overall, I thought we were ready to play and did what we needed to do against a good opponent in Switzerland. We’ll get ready now for the semifinals and look forward to the challenge in front of us.”
The Americans, who emerged as Group A champions, are set to face Czechia in the semifinals, as the Czechs narrowly defeated Canada 4-3 in the night’s other game at Canadian Tire Centre. In the other semifinal matchup, Group B winners Sweden will take on Finland.
Czechia secured their victory over Canada with a late power play goal from Adam Jecho, who scored with just 39.4 seconds remaining. Canada had managed to tie the game earlier through Bradly Nadeau, but a kneeing penalty against Andrew Gibson gave Czechia the opportunity to capitalize. Jecho, who plays for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League, commented, “We just wanted it more. Really proud of the group.”
The Czechs also benefitted from goals by Petr Sikora, Jakub Stancl, and Eduard Sale, marking their second consecutive quarterfinal triumph over Canada. Goaltender Michael Hrabal made 29 saves to bolster his team’s defense. For Canada, Tanner Howe and Porter Martone scored, while Carter George turned aside 22 shots. The disappointment was palpable for Canadian forward Calum Ritchie, who reflected, “It sucks. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not the way we all wanted it to end.”
Meanwhile, at TD Place, Sweden edged out Latvia with a 3-2 victory, while Finland overcame Slovakia with a score of 5-3. Sweden’s goals came from David Edstrom, Zeb Forsfjall, and Anton Wahlberg. Finland’s Jesse Nurmi stood out with two goals and an assist in their matchup. Notably, Finland had previously defeated the United States in overtime during group play.
In other news related to the tournament, Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Kazakhstan 4-3 with two goals from Maxim Schafer. This victory allowed Germany to retain their spot in next season’s tournament, while Kazakhstan was relegated to the Division I Group A tournament going forward.
