Slovakia – Latvia 8-3 (5-0, 2-2, 1-1)

SASKATOON – Slovakia rebounded from a tough first-day loss in convincing fashion with an 8-3 drubbing of Latvia.

Slovakia’s top line of Richard Panik, Tomas Tatar and Marek Viedensky was responsible for the bulk of the offensive output, putting in five of the Slovaks’ eight goals.

Panik scored twice in first 3:44 and then assisted on the 3-0 goal at 5:31. Things continued to go downhill for the beleaguered Latvians, who gave up another two goals before the end of the first period.

The end of the first period was also the end of the game for Latvian goalkeeper Raimond Ermics, who was replaced by Janis Kalnins. Kalnins lasted for nearly 10 minutes before he gave up his first goal when Matus Rais tipped in the puck to make it a 6-0 Slovak advantage. Tatar followed-up just over three minutes later with a five-hole goal.

Trailing 7-0, Latvia had a small moral victory when they put in a pair of goals coming 56 seconds apart. Both goals earned the underdog team a standing ovation from the enamored crowd and a hearty celebration from the players on the ice. Miks Lisbergs and Roberts Bukarts were the scorers.

But in the end, Slovakia had no problem overcoming the blip, as the teams exchanged two late period goals to bring the final to 8-3. Bukarts finished the game with two goals for Latvia, while Panik and Viedensky had four points each on the Slovakian side.

Both teams have the day off tomorrow.

United States – Switzerland 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0)

SASKATOON – Two games, two slow starts, yet two wins. So goes this year’s World U20 Championship for Team USA. The Americans were held scoreless by Switzerland for nearly half of the game before they rallied for a slim 3-0 win.

The U.S. had a quick turnaround after last night’s physical 7-3 win against Slovakia, and it showed in the early stages of the game. Switzerland applied steady pressure in the first period, outshooting the Americans 14-11. The Swiss had their best chances when the U.S. went down two men, but goaltender Jack Campbell stood his ground.

The Americans started to wear the Swiss down in the second period as the spark from the first 20 minutes slowly dimmed. Switzerland got off only five shots in the period, while the U.S. spent much of the time in front of Benjamin Conz’s net. The U.S. persistence finally paid off at 25:57 when Chris Kreider broke the 0-0 deadlock with his power-play effort.

Credit should go to the Swiss, who conceded nothing to the Americans despite the steady increase in traffic in front of their net. But the U.S. gave the Swiss precious few chances in the last half of the game, and sealed its edge when Matt Donovan put in a shot from just inside the blueline. The goal came moments after Conz made an acrobatic save that brought the crowd to its feet. The sudden change in fortune visibly deflated the Swiss, who gave up the 3-0 loss after USA’s A.J. Jenks put in a late marker.

The Americans have Monday off before resuming action against Latvia on Tuesday. Switzerland has another tough test Monday with a game against defending champion Canada.

Note: Yesterday’s major penalty and game misconduct in the Slovakia-USA gamewas attributed to the wrong player. USA’s Tyler Johnson was whistled for a high stick and 20-minute game misconduct. Those penalties are now credited instead to Jason Zucker.

JENNY WIEDEKE