WJHC picks and predictions: Czech Republic vs Canada
Jan 1, 2021 |
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Canada dominated Finland to finish first in Group A with a 4-0 record in the preliminary round. Up next is the Czech Republic in a knockout round quarterfinal matchup.
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Team Canada finished the preliminary round with a perfect 4-0 record and gets to face Group B’s fourth-place team, the Czech Republic, as quarterfinal action kicks off in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
The Canadians finished the round-robin with the tournament s most goals scored and least allowed (33:4). The Czechs managed just 14 goals in their four prelim games but collected two shutouts and beat Team Russia 2-0 on Sunday.
WJHC picks and predictions: Finland vs Canada
Dec 31, 2020 |
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Since 2014, only one other nation has won gold at the World Junior Hockey Championships besides Canada and Finland, who renew their rivalry for first place in Group A.
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Team Canada will look to finish on top of Group A’s standings as the 3-0 nation concludes its preliminary round Thursday with its toughest match of the tournament against also-undefeated Team Finland.
Both countries have cruised through Switzerland, Germany and Slovakia but will have to earn the No. 1 seed before the group cross-over and single-elimination quarter-finals begin on Saturday. The winner of this game will likely draw the easiest of the quarter-final matchups versus the Czech Republic with the loser either drawing Team USA, Team Russia or Team Sweden.
WJHC picks and predictions: Switzerland vs Canada
Dec 29, 2020 |
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Canadian goalie Devon Levi has also looked sharp through three starts blanking Russia in exhibition play and stopping 25 of 27 shots to open the tournament.
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Sitting on top of Group A, Team Canada has benefited greatly from a weak division and possibly the tournament s easiest schedule. Sporting a +16 goal differential after wins against Germany and Slovakia, the Canadians set their sights on Team Switzerland on Tuesday as round-robin play continues in the 2021 World Junior Championships.
Switzerland has managed just a single goal through two preliminary games and has yet to record a point in the standings, with losses to Finland and Slovakia. Switzerland was the Cinderella story of last year’s tournament, but this year they will be lucky to make the quarter-finals.
WJHC picks and predictions: Germany vs Canada
Dec 24, 2020 |
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Team Canada kicks off its 2020 World Juniors against Team Germany. The puck line is 5.5 goals, but Canada has won by six or more goals just twice in its last 11 games.
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Team Canada will kick off its gold medal defense on Saturday as they take on Team Germany, who will have already played Finland the day before.
The big news out of Canada s camp is the hand injury to captain Kirby Dach. Dach left the third period of Canada’s 1-0 win over Team Russia in exhibition play with an apparent hand injury and immediately left the ice. He has been ruled out for the tournament as Canada will have to move on from its most talented forward.
Poll: Majority Of Sports Fans Say Don t Play Indoors As Coronavirus Surges
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Life has become more challenging, and potentially dangerous, as winter weather forces more people inside during the coronavirus pandemic.
And the concerns extend to the world of sports.
A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll with the Center for Sports Communication at Marist College reveals 56% of American sports fans believe people should not be participating in indoor team sports such as basketball. That kind of surprised me, said Jane McManus, director of the Center for Sports Communication. I was expecting there to be less of a clear indication, McManus said, of what fans were thinking about the effect the pandemic is having on sports.