In day five of World Juniors fans got to see firsts for the teams playing. Germany got it’s first goal of the tournament. Against all odds Denmark finally got their first win in the tournament. A short day on the schedule only two games were slated.
Denmark 4, Switzerland 3 SO
In one of Denmarks last chances to win a game, being down 2-0 midway through the first made it seem like it wasn’t going to happen tonight for them. Goals by Kris Schmidli and Kevin Fiala gave the Swiss an early lead. It wasn’t until a Oliver Bjorkstrand goal three minutes left in the period that got Denmark back into the game.
In the second on a power play Denmark tied the game up on a goal by Anders Krogsgaard. Yet as Denmark has noticed this tournament, when things go right, someone comes and makes it go wrong. That player today was Timo Meier who tied the game got the lead back. The power play was the savior of Denmark on the day as five minutes left the Danes tied the game up on a goal by Mikkel Aagaard.
Through the third the two teams stayed tied and to overtime they went. An uneventful overtime sent the two to a shootout where Denmark could win their first game. Goals from Nikolaj Ehlers and Bjorkstrand and three big saves by goalie Georg Soderstrom gave the Danes a 4-3 win against Switzerland.
Georg Sorensen makes the final save in the shootout to seal Denmark's first-ever WJC win. #BigPlay @CanadianTire - http://t.co/zPSyjYSKyc
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) December 31, 2014
Germany 2, Slovakia 5
In the second game of the day Germany who hasn’t won a game yet took on a Slovakian team who also hasn’t won a game this tournament. No matter who won, someone was getting their first win of the 2015 tournament. Slovakia got out to an early 3-0 lead against the Germans. Slovakia saw goals from Robert Lantosi, Martin Reway and Matus Sukel and had a dominate lead.
Germany scored their first goal of the tournament late in the first. Western Michigan freshman Frederik Tiffels netted the Germans first goal. An uneventful second lead to a third where Switzerland added to their goal on a Reway goal. The Bronco Tiffels netted his second goal of the night but by that time the game was won by Slovakia. A minute left in the game Reway scored again giving him the hat trick in Slovakia’s first win in the tournament.
Games on slate for last day of preliminary round
The final day of World Juniors consists of one of the biggest match ups The United States vs Canada. A match up in basically any sport at any level of international play, the USA Canada rivalry is one you cannot miss out on.
Sweden vs Switzerland 1pm
The United States vs Canada 4pm – Will be live on the NHL Network and streaming online at NHL.com
The Czech Republic vs Russia 5pm
Finland vs Germany 8pm