World Juniors Day 3: Team USA dominates, Sweden gets going, and more

Day three of the World Junior Championships is in the books. This was a very interesting day but there were only two games to watch. Days one and two had four games each but there were some off days on Thursday. The two games that were played, however, had plenty of exciting storylines.

USA vs Switzerland

Team USA might be the most talented team on paper in the entire tournament. That showed on Thursday against Team Swiss. They were only okay in their 4-1 win over Norway so they wanted to play better and they did. 

The U.S. won 11-3 thanks to some good performances. The best player in the game was St. Louis Blues prospect Jimmy Snuggerud. He scored a hat trick and added an assist. This kid now has 20 World Juniors points in his career. 

Cutter Gauthier had three assists in this game. He isn't the only Boston College player to do well either. The trio of Will Smith, Gabe Perreault, and Ryan Leonard had a big day as well. Smith had one goal as did Leonard. Perreault had an assist.

Gavin Brindley (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Frank Nazar (Chicago Blackhawks) both go to Michigan and they both had explosive games here as well. Brindley had two goals and an assist while Nazar had four assists. These two both play very well together and will be a force going forward.

Jacob Fowler started this game for Team USA in net. They have three really good goalies so they are trying to decide who will go in the medal rounds. Fowler made 21 saves on 24 shots which isn't all that good but his team scored 11 goals.

It is unclear if this is his net going forward but it doesn't seem like it right now. His year at B.C is going very well but he can be better here at the WJC. He will be a Montreal Canadiens player one day but there is a lot of development yet to go for the Boston College goalie.

The Swiss are a better team than Norway but the United States played the former much better. Now, the Americans have a little bit bigger of a test on the horizon as they will play Czechia on Friday. Meanwhile, the Swiss will play Norway on Saturday. This is their chance to avoid relegation.

Day 3 of the World Junior Championships saw two teams dominate.

Sweden vs Germany

Germany started their World Junior tournament out strong with a big win over Finland. They were 0-25 in their first 25 chances against Finland but they finally got a win. They had every right to celebrate that one hard.

Finland isn't where they once were (or will be again soon) but that is still an impressive win for a hockey country like Germany. This match against Sweden was always going to be tough for them though as it is a completely different test. Sweden beat Latvia in their first game 6-0.

In this game, Sweden took it to the Germans. It was close early but they pulled away later in the game and took it 5-0. Sweden has yet to give up a goal in this tournament. They have to be one of the favorites going forward, especially knowing they are on their home soil.

As for the Germans, they have a chance to advance to the elimination rounds. Their next game is against Latvia who they should be able to beat. Canada follows them but going 2-2 in the tournament should get them out of Group A.

As for Sweden, you can bank on them either going 4-0 or 3-1. Friday will be their big matchup against Canada. That should decide who comes out of Group A as the top seed. It will be one of the best games of the Round Robin.