All games on NHL Network in U.S., TSN and RDS in Canada
Austria vs. Sweden (2 p.m. ET) -- Sweden will look to win its second straight in Group B preliminary-round play after a 3-2 win against Switzerland on Tuesday. Daniel Torgersson (Winnipeg Jets) scored two goals and Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild) made 21 saves for Sweden. "Switzerland is a good team, so we knew it was going to be a tough game," Torgersson said. "It was a good win for us. The first game of the tournament, you don't really know what the other team is going to be like." Sweden seeks its third tournament championship and first since Mika Zibanejad scored in overtime against Russia in the 2012 WJC final in Calgary. Austria, which lost 4-2 to Germany on Wednesday, seeks its first win (0-18) in its fifth appearance at the top level of the under-20 tournament. Forward Senna Peeters had a goal and an assist in the loss against Germany. "It's a big stage to play on, but we know we can play at this level," Peeters said.
Slovakia vs. Latvia (6 p.m. ET) --Slovakia has lost its first two games (5-4 to Czechia on Tuesday, 11-1 to Canada on Thursday) and needs a win to remain in the hunt for a spot in the quarterfinal round. Forward Matej Kaslik (2023 NHL Draft eligible) has scored three of Slovakia's five goals in the tournament. Dalibor Dvorsky, who could be a top-five pick in the 2023 draft, has one assist, two shots on goal and a minus-6 rating in two games. The 17-year-old forward has averaged 16:38 in ice time. Slovakia is missing some of its top players, including the first two picks in the 2022 NHL Draft, forward Juraj Slafkovsky (Montreal Canadiens) and defenseman Simon Nemec (New Jersey Devils). Latvia has also lost its first two games (6-1 to Finland on Tuesday, 5-2 to Canada on Wednesday) and is fifth in Group A. Latvia is playing at the top level of the WJC for the first time since 2017 after being added to replace Russia, which was banned from international play following its invasion of Ukraine.
Quick links
Group A preview
Group B preview
World Juniors Championship rosters
Tournament schedule
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