The schedule for the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo, New York is highlighted by the first ever outdoor game in IIHF competition, a tilt between defending champs Team USA and their cross-border rivals, Canada, on 29 December, at New Era Field in nearby Orchard Park.
Canada and Team USA round out Group A, playing mainly out of KeyBank Center (home of the Buffalo Sabres), with Slovakia, Denmark, and a surprising Finnish squad that barely avoided relegation in 2017. The only exception will be the aforementioned outdoor game, played at the home of the Buffalo Bills, which can seat well over 70,000 people, and will surely be packed with fans from both sides, with Buffalo being a short drive from the Canadian border. Group B will split play between KeyBank Center and nearby HarborCenter, and features last year’s Semifinalists Russia and Sweden, along with Czechia, Switzerland, and newly-promoted Belarus.
Team USAย will surely be looking to successfully defend their title to win their fifth Championship, their first back-to-back title, and first on home ice. But Canada and Russia will both be looking to retake their spot atop the junior hockey world, while perennial contenders Sweden and Czechia will be lurking, and a determined Finnish squad will look to redeem themselves after last year’s shockingly pitiful performance.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
GROUP A – ๐จ๐ฆย ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ซ๐ฎย ๐ธ๐ฐ ๐บ๐ธ | GROUP B – ๐ง๐พ ๐จ๐ฟ ๐ท๐บย ๐จ๐ญย ๐ธ๐ช |
Tuesday, 26 December | |
๐จ๐ฆ Canada vs. Finland ๐ซ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark vs. United States ๐บ๐ธ |
๐จ๐ฟ Czechia vs. Russia ๐ท๐บ ๐ง๐พ Belarus vs. Sweden ๐ธ๐ช |
Wednedsay, 27 December |
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๐จ๐ฆ Canada vs. Slovakia ๐ธ๐ฐ | ๐ง๐พ Belarus vs. Switzerland ๐จ๐ญ |
Thursday, 28 December | |
๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark vs. Finland ๐ซ๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia vs. United States ๐บ๐ธ |
๐ท๐บ Russia vs. Switzerland ๐จ๐ญ ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia vs. Sweden ๐ธ๐ช |
Friday, 29 December | |
๐จ๐ฆ Canada vs. United States ๐บ๐ธ | ๐ง๐พ Belarus vs. Russia ๐ท๐บ |
Saturday, 30 December | |
๐ซ๐ฎ Finland vs. Slovakia ๐ธ๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฆ Canada vs. Denmark ๐ฉ๐ฐ |
๐ง๐พ Belarus vs. Czechia ๐จ๐ฟ ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland vs. Sweden ๐ธ๐ช |
Sunday, 31 December | |
๐ซ๐ฎ Finland vs. United States ๐บ๐ธ ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark vs. Slovakia ๐ธ๐ฐ |
๐จ๐ฟ Czechia vs. Switzerland ๐จ๐ญ ๐ท๐บ Russia vs. Sweden ๐ธ๐ช |
Tuesday, 02 January | |
Quarterfinal: A1 vs. B4 Quarterfinal: B1 vs. A4 |
Quarterfinal:A2 vs. B3 Quarterfinal: B2 vs. A3 Relegation Game #1 |
Thursday, 04 January | |
Semifinal #1 Semifinal #2 |
Relegation Game #2 |
Friday, 05 January | |
Goldย Medal Game Bronze Medal Game |
Relegation Game #3 (if necessary) |
Theย IHLC champion for the tournament will be confirmed at the very latest by the Four Nations Cup in November, as we will know if the title made it past next month’s National Junior Evaluation Camp to a European squad, or if Canada or the defending champs will keep the title until Boxing Day. It is sure to be a fun ride en route to Buffalo!