Men’s World Championship Recap: USA, Switzerland remain perfect on Day 10

It’s crunch time, baby.

The final weekend of the round-robin is complete, with just two days of action left to go before we finalize the eight teams that will battle for the title. It all started with Germany beating Hungary 7-2, starting slow before pulling off an onslaught to close out the win.

We also had our first relegation of the tournament, with Slovenia’s 1-0 loss to Slovakia meaning they’ll be replaced for the 2024 tournament. The Group A tribute will be determined over the next two days, with Great Britain and Poland coming up as replacements.

In the evening, the two matchups were polar opposites. The United States cruised to a 9-0 win over USA to sit first in Group A, with their meeting with Sweden on Tuesday likely deciding who takes the top spot. Over in Riga, Switzerland clinched Group B with a 4-2 win over Czechia, keeping them at 6-0 heading into their final game against Latvia.

Here’s how the standings sit with just two days to go in the round-robin:

Group A:

1. USA, 18P
2. Sweden, 14P
3. Finland, 13P
4. Germany, 9P
5. Denmark, 8P
6. France, 4P
7. Hungary, 2P
8. Austria, 1P

Group B:

1. Switzerland, 18P
2. Czechia, 13P
3. Canada 11P
4. Latvia, 11P
5. Slovakia, 8P
6. Kazakhstan, 4P
7. Norway, 4P
8. Slovenia, 0P (relegated)

Germany beats Hungary 7-2

• JJ Peterka (BUF) has done a ton for a team that, before today, had some trouble outscoring opponents. Peterka scored a nice goal in the third and nabbed another three assists for the best game of his international career. He’s up to three goals and seven points in six games at this tournament, building upon a great rookie season with the Sabres. Tim Stutzle might be the top German player right now, but if Peterka can keep showing up at this tournament, he’s going to hit top star status himself.
• Nico Sturm (SJS) continues to get better with each game. The two-way center nabbed his second two-goal game in a row, with five over the past three games. It’s funny, because his ice time has continued to fall, but it seems like he’s getting favorable matchups. He’s all smiles right now, and for good reason.
• A lot of Kai Wissmann’s (BOS) assists have been secondary feeds, but he grabbed three assists today and was the team’s primary blueline play starter. He’s playing heavy minutes every night but today, everything he touched just turned to gold.
• Moritz Seider (DET) has had a bit of a quiet tournament compared to what we’re used to. Today, he played with his usual edge, had a pair of shots and scored in a game that saw him play below 20 minutes for the first time all tournament. And that was by design: the game was essentially over midway through the second.

Slovenia relegated after loss to Slovakia

• Once again, Luka Gracnar was the shining star for Slovenia. The goaltender stopped 38 of 39 shots, highlighted by a 17-shot barrage in the opening frame. The workload got easier as the game went on, but the quality scoring chances didn’t. Gracnar had a .915 save percentage despite not winning a single game, his best performance at the top-level tournament. It’s too bad it didn’t work out.
• Today was Stanislav Skorvanek’s first start in over a week, but he delivered. The 27-year-old recorded a 33-save shutout in a game that definitely wasn’t easy, despite the opponent. Skorvanek has really come into his own this year, finally making it on to Slovakia’s senior team radar for the first time. Performances like this, and the 2-1 win over Latvia, could go a long way.
• Patrik Koch has never been an offensive defender. He recorded just one point between the U-17 World Challenge, U-18 World Championship and World Junior Championship. He has barely produced anything at the men’s international level, too. But right now, he’s a defender flying high with four points in six games, including one assist today and a boatload of hits along the way, Koch has been quite impressive.

USA shuts out France to remain perfect in Group A

• Cutter Gauthier (PHI) hasn’t played an NHL game yet, but the college star looks like a seasoned veteran. He entered the day with three goals, and then scored a hat-trick and added an assist in the best game he has ever had representing the United States. Flyers fans, you have a special player here.
• But a lot of Gauthier’s offense wouldn’t have happened without TJ Tynan (LAK), the captain of the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Tynan had 73 assists this year, and now the stout playmaker is up to eight now through six games with the United States. It wasn’t unexpected, either, with the veteran recording five assists a year ago at this tournament, too. He’s just a magician.
• Conor Garland (VAN) continues to help his trade value, scoring a goal and adding two assists today. He had a couple of quieter outings, but he was very involved today, that’s for sure.
• The same goes for Drew O’Connor (PIT), who had a pair of goals today. He started the tournament off strong and then really helped put the game out of pace against France.
• What a night for Scott Perunovich (STL). The young defenseman has had a difficult pro career to date with some injuries, but he had two great passes on Gauthier’s goals and scored one of his own to make it 6-0. You love to see it (unless you’re French).

Switzerland clinches Group B with win over Czechia

• Andres Ambuhl is a Swiss hockey legend. He now holds the Swiss national team record with 144 points thanks to a two-goal effort that ultimately gave his team the win. None of his goals in the tournament have been anything spectacular, but he keeps putting himself in the right spot at the right time. That’s the Ambuhl way.
• Kevin Fiala (LAK) had a two-point effort, helping to set up Romain Loeffel’s power-play goal in the first period and then finding Ambuhl in front for the tip to make it 3-1. He had a quiet start to the tournament with no points against Kazakhstan or Slovakia, but now has three in the past two outings.
• The ultimate setup man, Roman Cervenka, scored the icebreaker six minutes in to set the tone for the game. He then found Dominik Kubalik (DET) for the 3-2 power-play goal at 52:14, the goal that gave the Czechs some late-game firepower. The pair nearly connected again a few minutes later but it didn’t come to be. As long as these two keep connecting, Switzerland will be A-OK.