2021 IIHF World Junior Championships: Day 1 Recap

Peterka with one assist, Johnson makes debut

Slovakia, Finland and Russia were the winners on day one of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Alberta.

Sabres prospect JJ Peterka was one of just nine forwards in the lineup for Germany on Friday night, part of a depleted German team thanks to COVID-19 and quarantine requirements. Despite having a short bench, Germany did their best to keep up with a tough Finnish team. Peterka finished the game with one assist and three shots in 23:49.

Ryan Johnson also dressed for the United States and played on the third defensive pairing.

Slovakia 1, Switzerland 0

Slovakia goal: Roman Faith

Simon Latkoczy (W): 28-save shutout

Thibault Fatton: 31 saves on 32 shots

Finland 5, Germany 3

Finland goals: Anton Lundell, Topi Niemela, Mikael Pyyhtia, Henri Nikkanen, Aku Raty

Germany goals: Tim Stutzle, Samuel Dube, Florian Elias

Kari Piiroinen (W): 19 saves on 22 shots

Arno Tiefensee: 45 saves on 50 shots

Russia 5, United States 3

Russia goals: Vasiliy Ponomarev (3), Zakhar Bardakov, Yegor Chinakhov

United States goals: Cam York, John Farinacci, Trevor Zegras

Yaroslav Askarov (W): 23 saves on 26 shots

Spencer Knight: 8 saves on 12 shots

Dustin Wolf: 11 saves on 11 shots

Group A Standings:

1. Finland (1-0)

2. Slovakia (1-0)

3. Switzerland (0-1)

4. Germany (0-1)

5. Canada (0-0)

Group B Standings:

1. Russia (1-0)

2. United States (0-1)

3. Sweden (0-0)

4. Czech Republic (0-0)

5. Austria (0-0)

Saturday’s games:

Sweden vs. Czech Republic, 2 pm

Germany vs. Canada, 6 pm (JJ Peterka, Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn)

United States vs. Austria, 9:30 pm (Ryan Johnson)

All televised on NHL Network in U.S. and TSN in Canada.