Day four of games at the World Juniors Summer Showcase had two games on the schedule. The first was between Sweden and USA; Sweden won 6-3. The second game was between Finland and Canada. Finland won that game by the same score, 6-3.
The teams have definitely refined and improved some of their game over the course of the week and will continue to do so before the week ends. The Sweden/USA game was one everyone will likely remember due to its overabundance of penalties. The first and second periods had more penalties than goals, and it became quite the spectacle. The second game was a bit calmer until the end, when the fists started flying. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways from the day, starting with the rising tensions.
The first game of the day was high on the tension level as there were fisticuffs early, it settled down a bit throughout the first period until the end. From the buzzer for the end of the first to the end of the second, it was all penalties, and the majority of them were roughing calls. It’s understandable that the stress level is high for these players to show what they can do, and their time window is closing, but having a minimum of three players in the penalty box at a time didn’t help matters.
The referee’s voices could be heard from the press box telling the players to stop, and at one point, it was before the players even started to punch, as the referees could see it happening. Thankfully, the third period calmed down a bit, and the second game was a bit more relaxed, at least in the beginning. Once the hits started flying and the score started rising, the fights started to happen.
While it’s easy to understand that the players on every single team competing are trying to make a name for themselves and prove they deserve a spot on their respective team come December. However, there’s a difference between making a big hit that works for the play and taking a penalty that costs your team.
Every team on day four made that mistake multiple times throughout the game. For Finland and Sweden, it worked out; for Canada and the United States, it didn’t. Hopefully, in the final two days left of games, they’ll mellow out a little and focus more on the 5-on-5 hockey and stay out of the penalty box.
Sweden and the United States had a hard-fought battle, but it was clear that Sweden had the advantage most of the game. They were kind of an outlier coming into this showcase, and not a ton was known. In my preview, I had them as an unknown, a competitor, but maybe not near the top. Although it’s early and there’s still time for it to change, they’ve proven they can win.
They have quite the firepower, and that’s been proven with both Ivar Stenberg and today, Jack Berglund. He had two of his team’s six goals, and he’s been a presence the whole time he’s been on the ice in the showcase. He has a powerful shot and was leading his team. It’ll be fun to see him continue to get comfortable, as he’s entertaining to watch.
“I feel good. Good all season, I’m glad it paid off, and just trying to help the team, and I think we have really good chemistry so early on. So, I’m happy for it,” said Berglund after the game about how he felt about his game, and he continued about what’s been better in his game, “I would just say offseason stuff like the gym, getting stronger. I’ve grown a lot this past year and I just try to get into my own body and be more comfortable with my skating,….. I think that’s the best part that I’m a better skater than last year and just taking steps, still long to go, but I just feel more comfortable on my blades, so that’s probably the best part.”
Finland’s fourth line of Onni Kalto, Atte Joki, and Benjamin Pietila made an impression with three of their team’s five goals. Kalto had two of them while Joki had one before he was thrown out of the game for boarding. They were all over the ice with great speed, moving around Canada players with a smooth flow.
Outside of the boarding that shouldn’t have happened in the first place, that line was the best for Finland. They led the team, and only one other player was at their level on the team, and that was Aatos Koivu, who, knowing who his father and uncle are, it’s no surprise he can score goals. Sweden has proven themselves to be a competitor, and Finland has shown they haven’t slacked off since last season either.
“That was a really fun game, like you said, it didn’t seem like a July game, two teams who are very competitive, want to win a lot. That’s what it’s going to be, even we’re in July, Summer Showcase too. Every guy wants to win out there so it’s going to be that every time and yeah it was definitely fun because I know a couple of the guys and I was chirping back and forth with them but off the ice we’re good buddies so it stays on the ice and I think it kind of brings a good feeling to the game. You can see everyone’s trying their best and really wants to win, so I like it,” said Koivu about the overall intensity and tension in the game.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Third Day of Games at the World Juniors Summer Showcase
Hopefully, the high intensity stays going forward into these final days, but the penalties need to die down because it did slow the game down a bit and took away from the overall fun of watching a fast-paced effort. It’ll be interesting to see what happens down the stretch and who steps up to prove themselves and make a statement for December.
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