Florida Panthers 2019 first rounder Spencer Knight stopped all 27 shots as the United States blanked Sweden 4-0 to win Pool B at the World Junior Championship to set up a quarterfinal meeting with Slovakia on Saturday.
After a shaky opening game against Russia, Knight posted back-to-back shutouts over the Czech Republic and the Swedes in his next two starts. He is the first American goalie to accomplish that feat at the World Juniors, per USA Hockey.
Another solid save from Spencer Knight!#USAWJC | #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/hXTQJUQWHy
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) January 1, 2021
The 19-year-old Knight is now 2-1 with a 1.58 GAA and .934 save percentage.
2020 second-rounder Emil Heineman logged 12:24 of ice time and registered one shot on goal and a -1 rating in the loss. Heineman was on for Trevor Zegras’ first period goal which gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead.
The Panthers other goalie in tournament, 2020 seventh-rounder Devon Levi backstopped Canada to an impressive 4-1 win over Finland, which gave the undefeated host country first place in Pool A.
Levi stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced. Brad Lambert’s power-play goal in the third period was the only shot that beat him. Levi is now 4-0 with a 0.82 GAA and a .952 save percentage in the tournament.
Anton Lundell had a tough night for the Finns, going -3 in the key game. Lundell logged 15:39 of ice time, had one shot on goal, and went 7 of 13 on faceoffs.
Defenseman Kasper Puutio registered two shots on goal and posted a -2 rating in 14:27 TOI.
In the other game on Thursday, the Czech Republic crushed Austria by a 7-0 count.
The remaining eight teams, Austria and Switzerland have been eliminated, get a day off before Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals
Russia (B2) vs Germany (A3) 12 p.m. NHL Network
Finland (A2) vs, Sweden (B3) 3:30 p.m. NHL Network
Canada (A1) vs. Czech Republic (B4) 7 p.m. NHL Network
United States (B1) vs. Slovakia (A4) 10:30 p.m. NHL Network
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