The Puck Stops Here

Yesterday, the quarterfinals were played in the World Junior Hockey Championships. After the round robin we were left with two semi-finals.

Finland 1 Sweden 0 (Overtime) This game was tied after regulation despite Sweden dominating most of the play. At 9:26 of overtime Teemo Laakso (a Nashville Predator draftee) scored for Finland to secure the win. Finland's goalie Tuukka Rask (a Toronto Maple Leaf draft pick) dominated the game with 53 saves. Sweden's goalie Daniel Larsson (who is undrafted) played a good game in the losing effort saving 24 of 25 shots. Finland will play Canada in a semi-final tonight.

USA 2 Czech Republic 1 USA took a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Phil Kessel (who will be in the 2006 draft) and Chris Bourque (a Washington Capital draftee). Ladislav Smid (an Anaheim Mighty Ducks draftee) quickly responded with the only Czech goal. American goalie Cory Schneider (a Vancouver Canuck draftee) almost had a shutout stopping 30 of 31 shots. USA will play Russia in a semi-final tonight.