Buffalo Sabres prospect Dylan Cozens recorded a pair of goals in Canada’s 4-1 win over Finland on Thursday evening, while Ryan Johnson also scored in the United States’ win to secure the top of Group B.
Cozens, wearing the C for his country, skated 18:54 and was a plus-3. He also went 75% in the face-off circle and is now second among skaters in the World Juniors with 11 points.
🚨🇨🇦 @Dylan_Cozens with his 5th goal of his #WorldJuniors!
Cozens barrels down the ice and fires the puck to the back of @leijonat ‘s net! @BuffaloSabres @HC_WJC pic.twitter.com/Ij3QMziJEy
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 31, 2020
Jack Quinn had a quieter night but was a steady presence on Canada’s third line. He finished the game with 14:43 ice time and played alongside Quinton Byfield and Jakob Pelletier.
Johnson has also looked sharp for the United States, both defensively and offensively. He scored this goal on Thursday night to help the US to victory:
🚨🇺🇸 Ryan Johnson goes for a walk with the puck and let’s it go straight into the back of the @Trekronorse net. @usahockey now up 3-0. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/M3cvP2jKCA
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 1, 2021
Quarterfinal action at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships begins on Saturday. Canada won Group A, so they’ll face the Czech Republic. USA won Group B and will face Slovakia. Germany (J-J Peterka) finished group play 1-1-0-2 and will face Russia in the first game of the day. Here’s to hoping Peterka and Tim Stutzle can continue to showcase their offensive prowess and help Germany to the next round.
Czech Republic goals: Simon Kubicek, Martin Lang (2), Filip Prikpil, Pavel Novak, David Jiricek, Jan Mysak
Nick Malik (W): 15-save shutout
Sebastian Wraneschitz: 54 saves on 61 shots
Canada goals: Dylan Cozens (2), Dylan Holloway, Peyton Krebs
Finland goal: Brad Lambert
Devon Levi (W): 18 saves on 19 shots
Kari Piiroinen: 36 saves on 39 shots
United States goals: Drew Helleson, Trevor Zegras, Ryan Johnson, Alex Turcotte
Spencer Knight (W): 27-save shutout
Hugo Alnefelt: 16 saves on 20 shots / Jesper Wallstedt: 17 saves on 17 shots
Group A Standings:
1. Canada (4-0-0-0)
2. Finland (3-0-0-1)
3. Germany (1-1-0-2)
4. Slovakia (1-0-1-2)
5. Switzerland (0-0-0-4)
Group B Standings:
1. United States (3-0-0-1)
2. Russia (2-1-0-1)
3. Sweden (2-0-1-1)
4. Czech Republic (2-0-0-2)
5. Austria (0-0-0-4)
Quarterfinal action begins on Saturday.
Saturday’s games:
Russia vs. Germany, 12 p.m. ET
Finland vs. Sweden, 3:30 p.m. ET
Canada vs. Czech Republic, 7 p.m. ET
USA vs. Slovakia, 10:30 p.m. ET
All televised on NHL Network in U.S. and TSN in Canada.