After claiming the gold medal the last two tournaments, the United States will now host the World Juniors in Minnesota’s twin cities, aiming for a threepeat. They he a good roster to make that happen, but there are several teams that go into the event feeling good about their chances.
Preliminary roundThe first phase of the tournament involves two groups (A and B) of five teams playing a round robin to decide positioning for the playoff portion. The top four nations from each group make it to the quarter-finals, while the bottom teams will play each other in a relegation game.
December 26, 20241:00 PM EST: Sweden vs. Slovakia3:30 PM EST: Denmark vs. Finland6:00 PM EST: Germany vs. United States8:30 PM EST: Czechia vs. Canada
December 27, 20242:00 PM EST: Slovakia vs. Germany4:30 PM EST: Latvia vs. Canada6:00 PM EST: United States vs. Switzerland8:30 PM EST: Denmark vs. Czechia
December 28, 20242:00 PM EST: Sweden vs. Switzerland4:30 PM EST: Finland vs. Latvia
December 29, 20241:00 PM EST: Germany vs. Sweden3:30 PM EST: Finland vs. Czechia6:00 PM EST: Slovakia vs. United States8:30 PM EST: Canada vs. Denmark
December 30, 20242:00 PM EST: Switzerland vs. Germany4:30 PM EST: Latvia vs. Denmark
December 31, 20241:00 PM EST: Switzerland vs. Slovakia3:30 PM EST: Czechia vs. Latvia6:00 PM EST: United States vs. Sweden8:30 PM EST: Canada vs. Finland
Grid schedule (EST) Team Dec 26 Dec 27 Dec 28 Dec 29 Dec 30 Dec 31 CAN CZE (20:30) LAT (16:30) — DEN (20:30) — FIN (20:30) CZE CAN (20:30) DEN (20:30) — FIN (15:30) — LAT (15:30) DEN FIN (15:30) CZE (20:30) — CAN (20:30) LAT (16:30) — FIN DEN (15:30) — LAT (16:30) CZE (15:30) — CAN (20:30) GER USA (18:00) SVK (14:00) — SWE (13:00) SUI (14:00) — LAT — CAN (16:30) FIN (16:30) — DEN (16:30) CZE (15:30) SUI — USA (18:00) SWE (14:00) — GER (14:00) SVK (13:00) SVK SWE (13:00) GER (14:00) — USA (18:00) — SUI (13:00) SWE SVK (13:00) — SUI (14:00) GER (13:00) — USA (18:00) USA GER (18:00) SUI (18:00) — SVK (18:00) — SWE (18:00) Relegation gameA single relegation game will be played between the teams that finish at the bottom of each group. The winner will remain in the Top Division for the 2027 event. The loser will drop down to Division IA, making room for Norway’s promotion next year.
January 2, 202512:30 PM EST: A5 vs. B5
Playoff roundThe top seed from Group A plays the fourth seed from Group B, the second seed of Group A the third seed from Group B, and so on. These are all single-elimination games, with the losers’ tournament coming to an end, and the winners moving on to the semifinals. The winners of the semis play for the gold medal, while the losers battle for bronze.
January 2, 20252:00 PM EST: Quarter-final 14:30 PM EST: Quarter-final 26:00 PM EST: Quarter-final 38:30 PM EST: Quarter-final 4
January 4, 20254:30 PM EST: Semifinal 1 (reserved for USA)8:30 EST: Semifinal 2 (reserved for Canada)
January 5, 20254:30 PM EST: Bronze Medal Game8:30 PM EST: Gold Medal Game