In the opening game for Group B at this year’s World Junior Hockey Championship, the newly promoted Latvian squad clashed with last year’s bronze medalists, Team USA. The talent levels are obviously on opposite ends of the spectrum for this game, with the Americans being a medal favorite, and Latvia hoping to not be relegated.
Despite a slow start to the first period, the Americans owned the flow of play, holding the Latvians without a shot until the halfway mark of the period. However, as expected, the US broke through Mareks Mitens’ defences following a power-play opportunity. Patrick Harper collected a puck in the offensive zone, found his way into the slot and wired one past the Latvian netminder.