USA vs. Slovakia live score, highlights, updates from 2023 World Juniors

By | December 28, 2022
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The United States continues on with Group B play at the 2023 World Juniors, as the Americans face Slovakia on Wednesday afternoon. 

On Monday, it took a slow start, but the USA pulled out a 5-2 win over Latvia to kick off their tournament. After a scoreless first period, the two teams exchanged goals in the middle frame to head into the final 20 minutes knotted at two. The USA scored three unanswered goals in the third period to secure the win.

Five different players found the back of the net, with Red Savage and Sean Behrens leading the way with a goal and an assist each. Trey Augustine got the win in net, stopping 15 of 17 shots. 

MORE: Watch the 2023 World Juniors live with fuboTV (free trial, U.S. only)

“We just settled down for the third and kind of played with more character,” U.S. head coach Rand Pecknold said. “I thought in the first two periods, we were nervous and made a couple of mistakes that ended up in the back of the net. But we had plenty of chances, so we just talked about letting our character come through in the third.”

Slovakia lost on Tuesday in their opening game of the tournament, falling to Finland 5-2. After both teams found the back of the net once in the first, the Finns potted three goals in the second to build a 4-1 lead, and held on for the win in the third. 

Peter Repcik had both of the goals for Slovakia, while goaltender Patrik Andrisik was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots. 

The Sporting News will provide live updates and highlights from the USA-Slovakia matchup at the 2023 World Junior Championship.

MORE: Team USA roster, schedule for 2023 World Juniors

USA vs. Slovakia score

  1 2 3 OT F
USA 1 — — — —
Slovakia 1 — — — —

USA vs. Slovakia live updates, highlights from 2023 World Juniors

(All times Eastern.)

First period

4:40 p.m. — Slovakia goes to their first power play as Jimmy Snuggerud sits for two minutes for tripping. 

4:37 p.m. — The U.S. has Slovakia playing reserved. You can tell the Americans’ speed is a concern for the Slovaks. They are willing to sit back and play conservative rather than get caught up ice in the transition game. 

4:31 p.m. — Not the cleanest last couple of minutes by the U.S. in their own zone, as multiple turnovers allowed Slovakia to keep the puck in. But no high-danger scoring chance allowed. 

4:24 p.m. — The USA are buzzing now. They almost scored again in the shift after the Brindley goal, but the whistle finally blows after a good five seconds of whacking at loose puck in the crease with Gajan on his back. 

4:23 p.m. — GOAL! Gavin Brindley showcases an excellent hand-eye coordination and tips a Lane Hutson shot over the shoulder of Gajan. Nothing the Slovak goalie could do. The United States get their first lead of the game with 13:12 left in the period. 

4:22 p.m. — Great pressure by the second PP unit for the USA. Jackson Blake had a chance with Gajan down and out, but hit the outside of the net. You could argue that to start this tournament, the second group has been better than USA’s top PP unit. 

4:19 p.m. — Confirmed good goal. It was a Slovak defender that knocked Boucher into Gajan. 1-1 game early on. Because of the failed challenge, Slovakia gets a penalty and the USA are going back on the power play. 

4:17 p.m. — Slovakia is challenging the play for goalie interference. 

4:16 p.m. — GOAL! Just seconds into the man advantage and Tyler Boucher scores off a rebound. Slick pass by Cutter Gauthier to Rutger McGroarty in the slot, who deflected it on net and Boucher slammed home the loose puck. Tie game with 15:18 left. 

4:15 p.m. — USA gets a power play chance less than five minutes into the game as Alex Ciernik is called for hooking. The United States were 0 for 2 on the PP against Latvia. 

4:11 p.m. — GOAL! Slovakia gets the scoring going first as Libor Nemec putts his third attempt home. His first two shots were blocked, but his third whack at the puck goes through the five-hole of Mbereko. 1-0 Slovakia just over two minutes into the game. 

4:08 p.m. — Puck is down and the USA-Slovakia matchup is underway. 

Pregame

3:20 p.m. — Lines for Slovakia against the U.S. Adam Gajan gets the start in net after being the odd goalie out in the game against Finland. Both Patrik Andrisik and Matej Marinov saw action in the opener. 

3 p.m. — United States rolling out the same forward lines and defensive pairings as they did against Latvia. Kaiden Mbereko, who was the starter in the summer games, is expected to get his first of the tournament after Trey Augustine played in the opener. 

What channel is USA vs. Slovakia on today?

  • United States: NHL Network
  • Canada: TSN 1/5

TSN has all the World Juniors action in Canada, while in the United States, viewers can find the games on NHL Network.

Stephen Nelson will provide play-by-play coverage for NHL Network. He will be joined by analyst Dave Starman and reporter Jon Rosen on the broadcasts. 

Dennis Beyak and Craig Button will be on the call for the USA games for TSN. Laura Diakun and Dave Reid will be in the studio.

How to live stream World Juniors hockey games

U.S. fans can stream the tournament on fuboTV (which comes with a free trial), NHL.tv or the NHL app.

Fans in Canada can stream all World Juniors games on TSN.ca or the TSN app.

USA vs. Slovakia start time

  • Start time: 4 p.m. ET (5 p.m. AST)

The puck will drop at 4 p.m. ET from the Avenir Centre in Moncton, N.B., home of the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. 

MORE: Team USA 2023 World Juniors roster, results

It is the second game of the tournament for both teams and the first World Juniors game on Wednesday. 

USA vs. Slovakia odds

  • USA: -2.5 (-159)
  • Slovakia: +2.5 (+114)
  • O/U: 6.5

The USA opened as 2.5-goal favorites on the puck line for their game against Slovakia, according to Sports Interaction. 

USA World Juniors schedule 2023

(All times Eastern)

Date Opponent Result Time (ET) TV Info
Dec. 26 Latvia W, 5-2 4 p.m.  TSN, NHLN
Dec. 28 Slovakia — 4 p.m.  TSN, NHLN
Dec. 29 Switzerland — 4 p.m.  TSN, NHLN
Dec. 31 Finland — 4 p.m. TSN, NHLN
Jan. 2 TBD (Quarterfinals) — TBD  TSN, NHLN
Jan. 4 TBD (Semifinals) — TBD  TSN, NHLN
Jan. 5 TBD (Gold-Medal Game) — TBD  TSN, NHLN

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