The U.S. National Junior Team went 5-0-1-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) and earned a silver medal to extend its unprecedented medal streak in tournament play to four straight IIHF World Junior Championships.
The 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship took place Dec. 26, 2018 – Jan. 5, 2019, in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The tournament saw the U.S. earn second in Group B during the preliminary round, which included history being made as the U.S. staged the largest and latest comeback in tournament history. Down 4-0 to Sweden, Team USA rallied for four goals in the final 10:26 of regulation before falling, 5-4, in overtime. In the playoff round, the U.S. defeated the Czech Republic (3-1, QF) and Russia (2-1, SF) before meeting Finland in the gold-medal game. There, the U.S. again fell behind, this time 2-0, before back-to-back goals 1:46 apart midway through the third period saw the U.S. draw the game level. With 1:26 to play in regulation, Finland was able to score the decisive goal as the U.S. finished with a silver medal, its 12th ever medal in the tournament's 43-year history.
Serving as head coach for Team USA was Mike Hastings (Crookston, Minn./Minnesota State), head coach of Minnesota State men’s ice hockey team. He was joined behind the U.S. bench by assistant coaches David Lassonde (Durham, N.H./Dartmouth College), Steve Miller (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio State University), Scott Sandelin (Hibbing, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth) and Jerry Keefe (Saugus, Mass./Northeastern University). John Vanbiesbrouck (Detroit, Mich./USA Hockey), assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, served as general manager.
All U.S. games televised live on NHL Network
Games in Victoria at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre
Games in Vancouver at Rogers Arena
Date | Opponent/Round | Location | Time (Local/ET)/Result | U.S. Player of Game |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wed., Dec. 26 | Slovakia Preliminary |
Victoria, B.C. | W, 2-1 | Evan Barratt |
Fri., Dec. 28 | Kazakhstan Preliminary |
Victoria, B.C. | W, 8-2 | Jason Robertson |
Sat., Dec. 29 | Sweden Preliminary |
Victoria, B.C. | OTL, 4-5 | Ryan Poehling |
Mon., Dec. 31 | Finland Preliminary |
Victoria, B.C. | W, 4-1 | Tyler Madden |
Wed., Jan. 2 | Czech Republic Quarterfinals |
Victoria, B.C. | W, 3-1 | Noah Cates |
Fri., Jan. 4 | Russia Semifinals |
Vancouver, B.C. | W, 2-1 | Cayden Primeau |
Sat., Jan. 5 | Finland Gold-Medal Game |
Vancouver, B.C. | L, 2-3 | Sasha Chmelevski |
Award(s) | Player(s) |
---|---|
Tournament MVP | Ryan Poehling |
Best Forward | Ryan Poehling |
Media All-Star Team | Ryan Poehling |
Top 3 U.S. Players | Mikey Anderson(Defense) Ryan Poehling (Forward) Jason Robertson |
Rank | Country |
---|---|
1 | Finland |
2 | United States |
3 | Russia |
4 | Switzerland |
5 | Sweden |
6 | Canada |
7 | Czech Republic |
8 | Slovakia |
9 | Kazakhstan |
10 | Denmark |