NHL News

Canada vs. USA: New Year’s Eve Showdown at the World Juniors

New Year’s Eve, Team Canada faces off against Team USA in the world juniors. Which team will claim first place in Group A?

by
Old Prof
December 30, 2024

For the first time since 2016, hockey fans will be treated to a New Year’s Eve clash between Canada and the United States at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Both teams enter the game, tied for first place in Group A with seven points. They share identical 2-0-0-1 records after surprising overtime losses earlier in the tournament. The defending champion Americans are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Finland. Canada lost in a 3-2 shootout loss to Latvia.

Canada rebounded Sunday with a 3-0 shutout victory over Germany, led by goaltender Carter George, who earned his second clean sheet of the tournament. However, questions linger about Canada’s struggling offense.

“We’re snake-bitten,” Canada’s head coach Dave Cameron shared after Sunday’s game. “We’re getting chances. That’s all you can do … it’ll break.”

Canada vs. USA Is Always a High-Stakes Game

The stakes are high for this New Year’s Eve game. The winner will gain the top spot in Group A, heading into the knockout stage with momentum. Playing the spoiler adds extra motivation for Team USA.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” said American defenseman Cole Hutson. “You win that game; you get to rub it in a bit. Hopefully, we’re on the good side of it.” His teammate Ryan Leonard echoed that thought, emphasizing that their overtime loss to Finland has fired up the team for this upcoming game.

Canada and the USA Have a Long-Standing Rivalry

Canada and the United States have met on New Year’s Eve 12 times at the World Juniors. Canada holds the edge with eight wins. However, their last December 31 matchup in 2016 saw the Americans win 3-1, followed days later by a dramatic shootout win over Canada to capture the gold medal.

All time, Canada holds a 34-15 record against the United States at the World Juniors, outscoring their rivals 197-139. However, when it comes to head-to-head gold medal games, the Americans have won four of five, including a 2-0 victory in Edmonton in 2021. The most recent meeting between the two teams was in the 2023 semifinals, in which Canada won gold with a 6-2 victory.