World Junior Championship Summary: Hughes, USA dominate Germany

Day 1 games

United States 5, Germany 1 — A potential New Jersey Devils defenseman, Luke Hughes, had a goal and an assist to lead the United States in their first round game in Group B.

Landon Slaggert (Chicago Blackhawks) and Riley Duran (Boston Bruins) also had a goal and an assist each for the USA, and Sasha Pastujov (Anaheim Ducks) had two assists. Kaidan Mbereko (qualified for the 2023 draft) made 10 saves.

Joshua Samanski scored for Germany. Nikita Quapp (Carolina Hurricanes) made 45 saves and had one assist.

Hughes’ shot through traffic from above the right faceoff circle defeated Quapp to give the United States a 1-0 lead after 13:39 of the first period.

Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes) made it 2-0 with a power play goal at 18:01 after Germany forward Bennet Rossmy (qualified for the 2023 draft) received a game misconduct for an illegal headshot.

Slaggert extended it to 3-0 with a tight-angle shot from the goal line at 1:21 of the second period, and Redmond Savage (Detroit Red Wings) made it 4-0 at 1:57 when he pocketed the rebound of a Duran -shot.

Duran made it 5-0 with 1:00 left in the second to a shot from above the right faceoff circle.

With the score at 13:12 in the third period, Samanski scored a power play goal to make it 5:1.

Czech Republic 5, Slovakia 4 — Gabriel Szturc, a 2023 NHL Draft candidate, scored 1:50 in the third period to lead the Czech Republic in their first round game in Group A.

Szturc ran the puck down the right side of the Slovak zone, hit the net and fired from close range.

Montreal Canadiens rookie Jan Mysak and Michal Gut each had a goal and an assist for the Czech Republic, and Jan Bednar (Detroit Red Wings) made 24 saves.

“We’re glad we won,” said Mysak. “That’s all we want, that’s all we focused on and we’ve got it, so it’s perfect.”

Matej Kaslik (2023 draft qualifier) ​​scored two goals for Slovakia. Simon Latkoczy made 42 saves.

Servac Petrovsky (Minnesota Wild) gave Slovakia a 1-0 lead at 3:20 of the first period and Kaslik struck from the left circle to make it 2-0 at 5:57.

“I think we play very well from the start,” said Slovakia defender Rayen Petrovicky. “We scored two goals. We played very well in the first period, but it was very bad for us in the second period.”

Czech striker Martin Rysavy (Columbus Blue Jackets) made it 2-1 in the second period at 2:22 when he scored a centering pass from Matous Mensik (qualified for the 2023 draft) and Gut leveled the game at 2-2 at 13 :21 off when he hit a puck under Latkoczy.

Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights) made it 3-2 at 5:35 p.m. Tomas Urban (2023 draft draft) took a shot from the left circle that Latkoczy shouldered off, but the puck landed in the crease and Sapovaliv headed in the rebound.

Mysak made it 4-2 at 7:56 of the third period when he turned over on the ice in the middle.

“I’m trying to enjoy it, right? I’m here to fight for my country,” said Mysak, the Czech Republic captain. “I don’t feel any pressure. I just find it exciting for me because I’ve seen a lot of legends who played for the national team before me. … Well, for me it’s a privilege and I’m lucky to be here.”

Petrovicky, who can be drafted in 2023, made it 4-3 with a 5-on-3 power play goal at 1:56 p.m. and Kaslik equalized with a power play goal at 4:48 p.m.

“The second third wasn’t very good of us, but I think in the third we came back and leveled the game,” said Slovakian forward Jakob Demek (Golden Knights). “Unfortunately, they score at the last minute.”

The Czech Republic next plays Finland on Thursday. Slovakia plays Canada on Thursday.

Finland 6, Latvia 1 — Joakim Kemell (Nashville Predators) scored two goals and two assists for Finland in Group A’s first round match.

“We played well, but of course we believe we can improve and play better in the next game,” Kemell told the IIHF website. “But at the moment we’re happy with how things went today.”

Roni Hirvonen (Toronto Maple Leafs) had a goal and two assists and Aatu Raty (New York Islanders) had a goal and three assists for Finland. Leevi Merilainen (Ottawa Senators) made 19 saves.

Klavs Veinbergs (Tampa Bay Lightning) scored for Latvia. Bruno Bruveris (2023 draft) made 33 saves.

Kemell gave Finland a 1-0 lead at 8:54 when his pass went off Latvia defender Niks Fenenko’s stick (qualified for the 2023 draft) and between Bruveris’ skates. He made it 2-0 at 11:29 when he finished a 2-on-1 with Hirvonen.

Brad Lambert (Winnipeg Jets) extended the lead at 1:52 of the second period with a one-timer from high position on the power play to 3-0 and Hirvonen’s power play goal at 18:01 gave Finland a 4-0 lead.

“I thought it was a good game, the first period was a bit tough, they played a pretty tough game and packed everyone in low and stuff,” Lambert said. “We just had to stick to our game plan and trust that we would get our chances and then we took them when we did.”

Veinbergs made it 4-1 with a power play goal on a one-timer from the right circle at 1:28 of the third period.

Raty gave Finland a 5-1 lead at 15:39 by scoring from the left circle and Kasper Puutio (Florida Panthers) made it 6-1 at 18:40.

“We’re not happy because we lost, but the coach was upset because we played really well for 55 minutes but not the last five,” Latvia captain Ralfs Bergmanis, a 2023 draft prospect, told the IIHF website.

Next up is Finland against the Czech Republic on Thursday. Latvia plays Canada on Wednesday.

LNH.com Editor Guillaume Lepage and NHL.com Independent Correspondent Derek Van Diest contributed to this report

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