Casey Mittelstadt registers 3 more points in 5-4 win over Finland.
By Kris Baker / SabresProspects.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres prospect Casey Mittelstadt (2017, first round) continued to lead the way for the Team USA on Sunday, scoring a goal and adding a pair of assists as the United States connected late to defeat Finland 5-4 at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The focal point of the American attack, Mittelstadt used his hands and shiftiness to impact the game with points in all three periods. The University of Minnesota standout now leads the tournament with nine points (4+5) through four preliminary round contests.
Mittelstadt put the Americans ahead 2-0 with 5:27 left in the opening period when a failed Finnish clearing attempt quickly reversed down low to Brady Tkachuk, who one-touched a pass to the leading point-getter for the easy one-time finish.
Mittelstadt earned an assist in the second period when he gained the zone and curled to get some breathing room before sliding the puck back to the point. The rebound of the ensuing shot bounced to Joey Anderson (NJD) for the goal.
With 1:37 left and game tied 4-4, Mittelstadt scooped up a Tkachuk chip in the neutral zone and quickly identified defenseman Adam Fox jumping up into an open lane. Fox took the Mittelstadt pass and went in alone to get the game-winner with 1:37 remaining on the regulation clock.
After a second-place finish in Group A, the United States moves on to face Russia in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round.
Finland goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (2017, second round) made 32 saves in the loss to the Americans to even his tournament record to 2-2 with a 3.04 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage.
Just as he had in his previous starts, the athletic Luukkonen aggressively challenged the American shooters by getting his big body out into the white ice.
While dealing with his creative elements for much of the contest, Luukkonen robbed Mittelstadt with a nice glove save in the middle frame. Mittelstadt skated into the slot with the puck and quickly changed his shot angle before ripping a wrister from the hash marks that Luukkonen tracked the entire way into his glove.
Luukkonen is expected to resume his role as the starting goaltender Tuesday when the Finns, who completed the preliminary round in third place in Group A, take on the Czech Republic in the quarterfinal.
Forwards Alexander Nylander (2016, first round) and Marcus Davidsson (2017, second round) each recorded an assist as Sweden extended their streak to 44 consecutive preliminary round wins with a 4-3 shootout decision over Russia.
Perhaps it was due to the opponent, but Nylander had the look of a more determined, motivated player throughout the contest. He was keeping his feet moving on the backcheck and using his speed to win loose pucks.
The pace he was played at helped the Swedes get on the board with the game’s first goal.
Coming down the right wing, Nylander’s speed backed the defense up, and after skating a few strides into the zone, he sent the puck back to Timothy Liljegren (TOR) at the point as Sweden executed a high-to-low play that resulted in a Lias Andersson (NYR) goal.
With just over two minutes to play in regulation and the score knotted 3-3, Nylander had the potential game-winner on his stick as he found himself all alone with the puck at the edge of the Russian crease, but his spinning backhand rang off the post.
Nylander, a Rochester Americans forward, was second to go for Sweden in the shootout, but instead of scoring saw his forehand attempt stuffed by the Russian netminder.
With four games in the books, Nylander is tied for the team lead with six points (1+5) and ranks second with 16 shots on goal.
Davidsson remained limited in his fourth-line minutes, but no one can question his value to the Sweden lineup per his speedy checking role.
Davidsson skated for 13:53 in the victory, highlighted by his winning a puck in the third period and sending it to the high slot for the shot that created the rebound on the Swede’s third goal.
The helper gives Davidsson two points (1+1) through the four round-robin games with Sweden, who finishes atop the Group B standings to set up quarterfinal matchup with Slovakia on Tuesday.
Vojtech Budik (2016, fifth round) earned an assist for the second consecutive game as the Czech Republic closed the preliminary round with a 6-3 doubling of Switzerland.
At 2:38 of the opening period, Budik retrieved a loose puck in the Czech zone and quickly sent a pass up the left side to begin the rush that ended with a Jakub Lauko tally.
Budik, who led all Czech skaters by receiving 21:26 of ice time, showed strong defensive awareness and shot-blocking acumen and was solid defensively on a pair of early penalty kills, and the effort carried over into a strong all-around performance for the rest of the contest.
The Czechs and Finns will kick off the quarterfinal action Tuesday at high noon.