hockey
The United States needed a huge game in their bout against Slovakia and that is exactly what they got.
The final match of the group stage in the World Junior Championships is also the most anticipated. Russia and Canada have become intense competitors over the years as the top two hockey nations in the world and their match on Monday morning will determine which team gets a bye in the quarter finals and an extra day of rest before the semi-finals.
When the schedule showed that Sweden and Finland would face off in the final match of Group A at the World Juniors, the expectation was that the game would decide the group winner. However, that has not turned out to be the case with one side underachieving in what has been a surprising group stage.
A year ago, the United States had an opportunity to advanced to the quarter finals on the final day of the group stage. Instead, they crumbled against Canada in the opening period and wound up in the relegation group and their worst position in the World Juniors since 1999. The Americans now face the same scenario after a pair of unfortunate losses.
Switzerland and Czech Republic both control their own destiny when they face off on Monday morning.
Slovakia gets a fortuitous matchup on Sunday when they take on struggling Germany.
One of the most anticipated matches of the 2013 World Junior Championships will take place when Canada and the United States face-off in a crucial tilt on Sunday morning.
The Czech Republic can give themselves a huge chance to qualify for the knockout rounds with a win over Latvia on Sunday.
Switzerland took defending Champion Sweden to the limit on Friday morning and has established itself as a contender in Group A.
Russia has put themselves one win away from qualifying for the second round.
The Defending Champions were widely expected to runaway with Group A, but the result s have indicated that Group A is far more competitive than previously expected.
The United States gets the worst possible matchup on Friday as they take on Russia.
Switzerland and Sweden both got off to ideal starts to their respective World Junior Championships campaigns, but one of the teams will undoubtedly be disappointed by the end of Friday's match.
Canada got their tournament off to a perfect start and will look to continue to dominate at the World Junior Championships when they face off against Slovakia.
Finland will look to continue its momentum after a dominant win over Latvia while Czech Republic will look to make up for their poor showing against Sweden.
