skip navigation

Gameday: U.S. Takes on Canada East at World Junior A Challenge

By USA Hockey, 12/11/19, 8:00AM EST

Share

Puck drops at 9:00 p.m. ET

DAWSON CREEK, British Columbia – The U.S. Junior Select Team continues World Junior A Challenge play against Canada East tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET. The game will be played at North Peace Arena in Fort St. John, British Columbia. Live streaming for tonight’s game can be found here.

Today’s Opponent: Canada East

Team USA is 5-0-0-0 (W-OTW-L-OTL) in its last five meetings with Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge. The U.S. has only lost to Canada East twice in the history of the tournament, the last time coming in 2011 when Canada East topped the U.S. 4-2 in the semifinals.

The U.S. has won five of the last seven World Junior A Challenges, while Canada East has one top-three finish in the past three years, a second-place finish in 2016.

2023 WJAC

Team USA has a 1-1-0-0 (W-OTW-L-OTL) record in the 2019 World Junior A Challenge. Canada East is 1-0-0-1 (W-OTW-L-OTL).

Game Two Recap:

Following an off day, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.) scored a pair of goals, including the game-winning goal in overtime, to secure a 4-3 win for the United States at the Encana Events Centre. The U.S. became the only undefeated team, after topping Canada West 3-2 on Saturday, in the tournament and is now sole possessor of the top spot in the World Junior A Challenge.

For full game stats, click here. Follow Team USA throughout the 2019 World Junior A Challenge here

International Experience:

Connor Caponi (Brookfield, Wis./Waterloo Black Hawks), Mitch Miller (Sylvania, Ohio/Tri-City Storm) and Grant Silianoff (Edina, Minn./Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) return to defend the U.S. championship from last year’s World Junior A Challenge.

This year’s roster includes eight players who have skated for the U.S. internationally. Of those, seven have skated on U.S. Select Teams, including five who helped lead the U.S. to a first-place finish at the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in 2017. In addition, Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass./Chicago Steel) was a member of the 2019 U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team that earned a bronze medal at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship last April in Ornskoldsvik and Umea, Sweden.

U.S. Roster

Big Stages:

Two players have also competed in the BioSteel All-American Game, previously known as the USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game, an annual event featuring the top American players eligible for the NHL Draft. Michael Koster (Chaska, Minn./Tri-City Storm) and Grant Silianoff (Edina, Minn./Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) each participated in last year’s event.

The U.S. Junior Select Team features three NHL Draft picks including Nashville Predators prospect Ethan Haider (Maple Grove, Minn./Sioux City Musketeers), Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Michael Koster (Chaska, Minn./Tri-City Storm) and Montreal Canadiens prospect Rhett Pitlick (Chaska, Minn./Omaha Lancers).

In addition, NHL Central Scouting named nine rostered players to its most recent Players to Watch list in preparation for the 2020 NHL Draft including Brendan Brisson (Manhattan Beach, Cali./Chicago Steel), Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass./Chicago Steel), Trevor Kuntar (Williamsville, N.Y./Youngstown Phantoms), Alex Laferriere (Chatham, N.J./Des Moines Buccaneers), Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass./Cedar Rapids RoughRiders), Mitch Miller (Sylvania, Ohio/Tri-City Storm), Luke Reid (Geneva, Ill./Chicago Steel), Ryder Rolston (Birmingham, Mich./Waterloo Black Hawks) and Grant Silianoff (Edina, Minn./Cedar Rapids RoughRiders).


U.S. Schedule

Date Opponent/Round Result Location Broadcast/Streaming U.S. Player of the Game
Thur., Dec. 5 Canada East
Pre-Tournament
W, 6-0
Chetwynd Rec Centre
Chetwynd, B.C.
Live Stream
Sat., Dec. 7 Canada West
Preliminary
W, 3-2
Encana Events Centre
Dawson Creek, B.C.
Live Stream
Brendan Brisson
Mon., Dec. 9 Czech Republic
Preliminary
OTW, 5-4
Encana Events Centre
Dawson Creek, B.C.
Live Stream
Gunnarwolfe Fontaine
Wed., Dec. 11 Canada East
Preliminary
W, 7-3 North Peace Arena
Fort St. John, B.C.
No Stream Brendan Brisson
Fri., Dec. 13 Russia
Preliminary
W, 7-2 Encana Events Centre
Dawson Creek, B.C.
Live Stream
Josh Lopina
Sat., Dec. 14 Canada East
Semifinals
SOL, 1-2
Encana Events Centre
Dawson Creek, B.C.
Live Stream
Logan Stein
Sun., Dec. 15 Czech Republic
Third-Place Game
OTW, 2-1
Encana Events Centre
Dawson Creek, B.C.
TSN Ethan Haider

More WJAC News