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On Day 2 of the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, some teams will look to carry their momentum from yesterday into another victory, and take another step closer to the semi-finals. But some other teams suffered opening-day losses and suddenly find themselves in a desperate situation to avoid the placement games.
USA vs Sweden
Břeclav, 15:30 CET
In yesterday’s openers, the Swedes won big over Germany while the USA hung around for most of the game against Czechia before caving late. Melvin Fernström and Alexander Zetterberg each recorded four points for Sweden and currently share second place in tournament scoring. A win would virtually assure the Swedes a spot in the semi-finals but this game should be a tougher test than yesterday against an American team that probably feels it didn’t bring its best game against the Czechs. For the Americans, a win will be necessary to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
Finland vs Switzerland
Trenčín, 15:30 CET
This is a match-up between two teams that each won their opening games in impressive and even surprising fashion. Not many would have picked Finland to pour in nine goals against Canada, led by five points from Tuomas Suoniemi and four from linemate Emil Hemming. And Switzerland’s 6-3 win against Slovakia was just the team’s sixth group-stage win ever at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The winner of this game will probably go to the semi-finals – that’s a place the Swiss have never gone – but there’s no doubt that the Finns will be the heavy favourites here.
Czechia vs Germany
Břeclav, 19:30 CET
After an impressive 7-2 opening-night victory over the USA, led by three-point efforts from Adam Titlbach and Adam Benák, the Czechs will be favoured to earn a second-straight victory against the Germans, who were heavily overmatched in their opener. After allowing 11 goals against Sweden, Germany will try to contain the Czech offence and keep this result respectable, while the Czechs will try to avoid looking past this game to their big match-up against Sweden tomorrow.
Slovakia vs Canada
Trenčín, 19:30 CET
Both of these teams are coming off big opening-night disappointments and will be looking to bounce back. The Canadians started strong against Finland but then fell apart defensively – they did score six and got three points from Berkly Catton. The Slovaks had their moments against the Swiss but struggled on special teams and ran into a hot goalie. Both teams will be desperate for a win to keep their semi-final hopes alive, and from that perspective, the Slovaks are probably unlucky that they will encounter an unhappy Canadian squad with something to prove.