Gold medal contender against gold medal contender.
A team looking for its first IIHF World Junior Championship gold in 14 years, facing the two-time defending gold medalists, on their home ice.
It’s Sweden against the United States, New Year’s Eve in the State of Hockey, with first place in Group A of the 2026 World Juniors at stake.
“We’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time,” Swedish forward Wilson Bjorck said after his team’s 8-1 Group A win against Germany on Monday afternoon at Grand Casino Arena. “We know the arena will be packed and the atmosphere in it will be crazy.
“It’s a really good game to look forward to.”
The teams meet this evening at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.
“I know all the players are excited, but as a coach, to be in the environment that we’re expecting here on New Year’s Eve, I think it could be great. I mean, I really do,” said U.S. head coach Bob Motzko, who has coached in many college hockey conference and NCAA regional tournaments in Grand Casino Arena, formerly the Xcel Energy Center.
“I’ve been in this building when it, when you get — you know — the old tournament (WCHA Final Five) that used to be in here, and the Frozen Fours that have been in here … this state, there’s going to be some juice in this building, for sure.”
Both teams bring 3-0-0 records into the final game of group play. Sweden has defeated Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany by a combined score of 15-5. The U.S. has defeated those same teams by a combined 14-9, including a down-to-the-wire 6-5 win against Slovakia on Monday night.
“It’s good. It’s going to be a good, good hockey game,” said U.S. forward Ryker Lee, a Michigan State freshman who scored the first U.S. power-play goal of the tournament, against Slovakia. “It’s going to be a dog fight again. Every game in this tournament has been super close, super competitive.
“They’re super skilled and play together really well.”
Regardless of Wednesday’s outcome, both teams know when and where they’ll play in Friday’s WJC quarterfinals. The only question remaining is who each team will play. Wednesday’s winner will be the No. 1 seed out of Group A, and will face the No. 4 seed from Group B — either Latvia or Denmark — which is a more favorable matchup than the likely No. 3 seed from Group B, Czechia.
Sweden will play Friday’s first quarterfinal game, at 1 p.m. at Grand Casino Arena. The U.S. will play the day’s third quarterfinal game, at 5 p.m, also at GCA. Canada, which will be the No. 1 or 2 seed out of Group B, will play Friday’s last quarterfinal game, at 7:30 p.m. at 3M Arena at Mariucci, in Minneapolis.
“I’d like it, bu the importance right now is how we’re playing,” Motzko said when asked the importance of earning the No. 1 seed. “Who knows who you play after (the U.S.-Sweden game)? For us, it’s all about how we play and continuing that. I’d like to get the number one seed. But more important, I want to know how we’re going to play.”
The last time the U.S. and Sweden met in the World Juniors was in the 2024 gold medal game, when the Americans blasted the Swedes 6-2 on their home ice in Gothenburg. A year before that, the U.S. prevented Sweden from earning a medal, beating it 8-7 in a high-scoring bronze-medal game in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
“They obviously beat us in the finals two years ago on our home soil, so I think it’s our turn to beat them on theirs,” said Swedish defenseman Sascha Boumedienne, who is a sophomore at Boston University, where he is teammates with U.S. forward Cole Eiserman and defenseman Cole Hutson. “We have a great team, and I feel like we have a big chance to beat them.”
When asked how high the motivation is for Sweden to win on Wednesday, Boumedienne replied: “It’s high. It’s very high.”
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