Day 15 - December 29

In a tournament like this, the turnaround can be quick as Team USA is experiencing back-to-back games here today after its 8-2 victory over Kazakhstan last night. Puck drop against Sweden, the only other undefeated opponent of Group B, is set for 7:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET) live on NHL Network. Gameday details can be found here.

BACK-TO-BACK FAMILIARITY
Including playoff rounds, the United States has claimed 10-straight wins on the tailend of back-to-back games in IIHF World Junior Championship play, a stretch that spans six tournaments. The last time the U.S. lost the second game of a back-to-back was at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, where it fell to Russia, 2-1, its first of three eventual back-to-back matchups that tournament en route to eventually winning the gold medal. Below is a list of Team USA's last 10 second game in back-to-backs.

Tournament Date Opponent Round Result
2018 WJC 01/05/18 CZE Bronze Medal W, 9-3
2018 WJC 12/29/18 CAN Preliminary SOW, 4-3
2017 WJC 01/05/17 CAN Gold Medal SOW, 5-4
2017 WJC 12/29/17 RUS Preliminary W, 3-2
2016 WJC 01/05/16 SWE Bronze Medal W, 8-3
2016 WJC 12/31/15 DEN Preliminary W, 4-1
2015 WJC 12/29/14 SVK Preliminary W, 3-0
2014 WJC 12/29/13 GER Preliminary W, 8-0
2013 WJC 01/03/13 CAN Semifinal W, 5-1
2013 WJC 12/31/12 SVK Preliminary W, 9-3

A YEAR AGO TODAY: U.S. TOPS CANADA OUTDOORS
A year ago today, the U.S. and Canada met outdoors at New Era Field for the first-ever outdoor game in IIHF history. In front of a record 44,592 fans, the U.S. stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to edge Canada, 4-3, in a shootout. Casey Mittelstadt (Edina, Minn.), a rookie with the Buffalo Sabres this year, tallied three assists to earn U.S. Player of the Game honors, while Brady Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.), a rookie with the Ottawa Senators, scored the tying goal before registering another tally in the shootout round. The U.S. wore a special Bills-replica jersey that utilized jersey numbers on the front and back, similar to an NFL jersey, with colors similar to the NFL's Buffalo Bills while the attendance record bested the 20,380 mark set in the gold medal-game of the 2009 tournament in Ottawa, Ontario. Current U.S. players to participate in that game include Mikey Anderson (Roseville, Minn.), Quinn Hughes(Orlando, Fla.), Ryan Poehling (Lakeville, Minn.), Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich.) and Dylan Samberg (Hermantown, Minn.).

CALIFORNIA TIES FOR ROBERTSON, CHMELEVSKI, BARNES
Forwards Jason Robertson and Sasha Chmelevski, who skated together on youth hockey teams in both California and Michigan, combined for five points (1-4) in Team USA's 8-2 win over Kazakhstan. Perhaps just as impressive as their development taking them from youth hockey teammates to teammates on the U.S. National Junior Team is that one of their fellow youth hockey teammates is none other than Cayla Barnes(Eastvale, Calif./Boston College), who last year helped the 2018 U.S. Olympic Women's  Ice Hockey Team capture its first gold medal in women's ice hockey in 20 years. A sophomore at Boston College, Barnes also helped the U.S. win three IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship gold medals from 2015-17. At the 2016 and 2017 event, Barnes earned the Directorate Award as Best Defenseman.