Canada. USA. New Year's Eve.
What more can you ask for? The winner of Group A at the World Juniors will be decided tonight, as the victor of the matchup between the two rivals will earn the top spot in the group and the No. 1 seed in the knockout stage. Both Canada and the United States are tied with seven points, having each won twice in regulation while suffering one overtime/shootout loss.
Team Canada is coming off a 3-0 win over Germany on Sunday. Dave Cameron's team once again was stellar defensively, thanks to the performance in net by goalie Carter George. But the offensive struggles continued for the squad.
Canada has just five goals in its last two games, which have come against Latvia and Germany, two countries that the home nation has historically handled with ease. LIVE: Watch the 2025 World Juniors on Fubo (U.S.
only) Only two forwards have more than one point at the tournament for the Canadians — Easton Cowan, who leads the team with three, and Calum Ritchie with two. While the defense has yet to give up a goal at even strength, the scoring is a major issue for Canada, and it gets a big test against a USA team averaging six goals a game. The Americans fell to Finland 4-3 in overtime on Sunday, dropping their first contest at the World Juniors.
David Carle's crew is headlined by potential 2025 No. 1 pick James Hagens, who leads the team in points with six through three games. He makes up a third of the top line for the defending gold medalists, along with his B.