THE SERIES VS. KAZAKHSTAN
The U.S. has captured all four of its previous meetings against Kazakhstan, holding a 34-4 shot advantage. Kazakhstan, which is playing in its seventh-ever IIHF World Junior Championship after winning last year's B Pool. The two teams last met in 2008 where the U.S. skated to a 12-0 win behind goals from 11 different players, including two from Colin Wilson. 

GROUP B STANDINGS
Entering day three of tournament play, the U.S. sits second with three points in one game played. Sweden, which ranks first, has two wins in its first two games and will meet the U.S. tomorrow night (Dec. 29) at 7:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET).

*W-OTW-OTL-L

HASTINGS, SANDELIN'S COLLEGE TEAMS DUEL
U.S. head coach Mike Hastings and assistant coach Scott Sandelin will be missing their respective college teams faceoff tonight as the Minnesota State Mavericks take on the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at the Desert Hockey Classic Tournament in Glendale, Arizona. Both teams are off to quality starts to the season, as Sandelin's Bulldogs are ranked third in the nation while Hasting's Mavericks sit eighth in the 2018-19 USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll. The Top-10 matchup begins at 5:30 p.m. CT on Pac 12 Network.

FIRST-EVER NITTANY LION
When Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) took the ice against Slovakia, he became the first-ever Penn State University Nittany Lion to appear in an IIHF World Junior Championship. The USA Hockey National Team Development Program product scored the eventual game-winner in the third period to give the U.S. a 2-1 win over Slovakia yesterday. A gold medalist with the 2017 U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team, Barratt will lace up against his college linemate, Aarne Talvitie, in the U.S.-Finland matchup on New Year's Eve.