World Juniors Update: Team USA Ousted by Finland in Semifinals
12/18/2019 9:55:00 PM | Ice Hockey
University of Michigan ice hockey freshmen Johnny Beecher and Cam York will compete for Team USA at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled for Dec. 26, 2019 through Jan. 5, 2020 in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic. Follow the Wolverine duo's progress via updates on this page.
Note: Beecher and York will miss Michigan's games at the Great Lakes Invitational Dec. 30-31 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The Wolverines will face Ferris State in the first game on Monday (Dec. 30) at 4 p.m.
• IIHF World Junior Championship Site | Standings
• USA Hockey World Juniors Site
Team USA Schedule
Times EST; All games on NHL Network
Thursday, Dec. 26 -- Prelims vs. Canada (L, 4-6) | Game Center
Friday, Dec. 27 -- Prelims vs. Germany (W, 6-3) | Game Center
Sunday, Dec. 29 -- Prelims vs. Russia (W, 3-1) | Game Center
Monday, Dec. 30 -- Prelims vs. Czech Republic (W, 4-3 OT) | Game Center
Thursday, Jan. 2 -- Quarterfinals vs. Finland (L, 1-0) | Game Center
Thursday, Jan. 2
The U.S. dropped its quarterfinal game against Finland, 1-0, to end its run at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship. This is the first time since 2015 that Team USA has not advanced to the medal round, snapping a four-year streak.
Johnny Beecher took two shots and was on the ice for a total of 12:38 (21 shifts), and Cam York played seven shifts for 4:53 of ice time.
Monday, Dec. 30
The U.S. closed out the preliminary round with wins over Russia and host Czech Republic. On Sunday (Dec. 29), Team USA team defeated Russia, 3-1, and followed up with a 4-3 overtime win over the Czechs on Monday (Dec. 30).
Johnny Beecher was on the ice for 9:23 against Russia, while Cam York totaled 8:33 of ice time. Against the Czech Republic, Beecher saw 11:48 of action while York played for 6:46. Both Wolverines were credited with a shot in each of the two games.
With a 2-1-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record in the preliminary round, the U.S. finished second in Group B and will face Finland in the quarterfinals on Thursday (Jan. 2). The game will air on the NHL Network at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Saturday, Dec. 28
The U.S. opened the competition with a 6-4 loss to Canada (Dec. 26) before rebounding in a 6-3 win over Germany (Dec. 27). All five teams in Group B, called the "Group of Death" in the media, are tied with three points after two games. The top four teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinal round.
After a day off, USA will face Russia on Sunday (Dec. 29) and Czech Republic on Monday (Dec. 30) in the final two games of the group round. Both games will air on NHL Network at 1 p.m. EST.
"We're feeling good heading into our game against Russia," Johnny Beecher said. "It'll be a huge game for us to gain some confidence and keep working on getting better as a team. It's going to be a tough game, but I know the boys are ready for the challenge."
Monday, Dec. 23
USA Hockey announced its 23-man roster for the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship, with Michigan's Johnny Beecher and Cam York earning places on the final roster.
After making the 14-hour travel day to Europe last Wednesday (Dec. 18), the Americans played two pre-tournament scrimmages. On Sunday (Dec. 22), Beecher had an assist in USA's 6-4 win over Sweden, and today York had two assists in a 7-1 win over Germany.
"We've asked the guys to give everything they had throughout this process and they did," said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the 2020 U.S. National Junior Team and also the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. "These are tough decisions, but we believe these are the 23 best players to achieve our goal."
Team USA will face Canada in its first preliminary game on Thursday (Dec. 26) at Ostravar Arena at 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. EST). In its 12th year televising the tournament, NHL Network will provide live game telecasts of all U.S. games and many others, plus comprehensive previews, highlights, analysis and interviews within its studio programming.
Wednesday, Dec. 18
Cam York scored in the U.S. National Junior Team's controlled scrimmage on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 17) against the U-18 program in Plymouth, Michigan. Following the scrimmage, the roster was trimmed from 29 players to 26 with York and Johnny Beecher continuing on with the team.
"I felt good," York said after lighting the lamp on Tuesday. "We've skated a lot the past few days, so the legs are a little heavy, but overall it's been going well."
"We now know the 26 players we're taking to Czech Republic and our focus over the next few days is finding the 23 that will give us the best chance to fulfill our ultimate goal: winning a goal medal," John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the 2020 U.S. National Junior Team, said in an article on USAhockey.com
Tuesday night, the team attended the Columbus Blue Jackets at Detroit Red Wings game, where they were able to see two former USA Hockey and University of Michigan players, Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski, along with former Wolverine Luke Glendening.
Wednesday was a travel day for the team as it headed to Ostrava, Czech Republic.
