BUFFALO – Here we are after only three days of the U20 and already referees have called eight misconduct penalties of one sort or another. Is this because of an effective crackdown by officials? Recklessness by the players? The pressure of the tournament affecting emotions and on-ice behaviour? Here is a report on those major penalties as well as an injury and suspension update.

Game 1 – Germany’s Tom Kühnhackl given 2 + 10 for a hit from behind. Later in the game, teammate Marius Mochel gets 2 + 10 for checking to the head and neck area.

Game 6 – Adam Sedlak of the Czech Republic gets 2 + 10 for checking to the head and neck area

Game 8—Zack Kassian of Canada gets a five-minute major and match penalty for checking to the head and neck area, as well as an automatic one-game suspension. Later in the game, Martin Frk of the Czech Republic receives a five-minute major and game misconduct for spearing.

Game 9 – Patrick Cehlin of Sweden gets a minor and misconduct for checking from behind.

Game 10 – Peter Hrasko of Slovakia gets five and a match for a hit to the head and neck area, and later in the game teammate Martin Marincin incurs the same penalty. Both carry automatic one-game suspensions as well as supplementary discipline review.

The injury list – or, suspected list, as no such beast formally exists – is lengthy already, and three automatic suspensions take effect from games played yesterday.

The Americans played last night without Brock Nelson and Jeremy Morin, and Jason Zucker didn’t return to the game after being hit by Marincin.

Canada is without Kassian for its next game because of suspension, but it also lost Calvin de Haan with an injury.

Sweden was without Gabriel Landeskog for its last game because of a foot injury and the flu, and his status is day-to-day.

The Czechs will almost certainly be without Petr Senkerik after he was carried off the ice on a stretcher after the Kassian hit.

Slovakia will be without Hrasko and Marincin because of automatic one-game suspensions for their hits to the head yesterday against the U.S.

The cases of Zack Kassian (Canada), Peter Hrasko (Slovakia) and Martin Marincin (Slovakia) are being dealt by the tournament’s Disciplinary Single Judge. He will decide about possible supplementary disciplinary action today.

ANDREW PODNIEKS