2008 IIHF World Junior Championship

Team USA Schedule | Team USA Roster | Team Canada Schedule

The 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship began Dec. 26 in Pardubice and Liberec, Czech Republic, and ended with the bronze medal and gold medal games Jan. 5.

TEAM USA SCHEDULE

Date	Opponent	Result	Recap
Dec. 26	Kazakhstan	W 5-1	Five different skaters scored goals for the U.S. team in its tourney-opening win. James vanRiemsdyk and Kyle Okposo each had a goal and an assist.
Dec. 28	Switzerland	W 4-2	Colin Wilson scored twice in the U.S. win. vanRiemsdyk added a goal and two assists, while Minnesota recruit Jordan Schroeder pitched in with three assists.
Dec. 29	Russia	W 3-2	Tyler Ruegsegger, vanRiemsdyk, and Mike Carmam scored for the U.S. The Americans outshot the Russians by a 49-30 margin.
Dec. 31	Finland	W 5-3	Wilson scored a natural hat trick and vanRiemsdyk added a goal and three assists as the U.S. built a 5-0 lead after two periods and held on for the win.
Jan. 4	Semifinal Canada	L 4-1	The U.S. saw its hopes for WJC gold dashed by a loss to Canada in the semifinals for the second straight year. vanRiemsdyk scored the only goal for the U.S.
Jan. 5	Bronze Medal Game Russia	L 4-2	Russia scored three first-period goals, avenging last week's loss to the U.S. in pool play. Rhett Rakhshani scored for the U.S. in the second period, while Schroeder added a goal in the third. vanRiemsdyk was the tournament's leading scorer with 11 points.
* Note - Selected games will be televised on NHL's Center Ice package. Audio for all games is available at www.usahockey.com.

TEAM USA ROSTER

Six returnees from the team that finished third at last year's World Junior Championship highlight the 22-man U.S. roster for the 2008 WJC. The group includes five representatives of WCHA schools — Minnesota forwards Mike Carman and Kyle Okposo, Wisconsin forward Blake Geoffrion and defenseman Jamie McBain, and Colorado College forward Bill Sweatt. New Hampshire freshman forward James vanRiemsdyk is the final holdover from the 2007 squad.

Minnesota has four players on the roster — Carman, Okposo, Ryan Flynn, and defenseman Cade Fairchild. Michigan, represented by forward Max Pacioretty and defensemen Matt Rust and Chris Summers, is the only other program with more than two players on the 22-member U.S. lineup. All but five skaters on this year's squad are collegians.

The complete 2008 U.S. World Junior Championship roster:

No.	Player	Pos.	Hometown (Current Team)
4	Jamie McBain	D	Faribault, Minn. (Wisconsin)
5	Blake Geoffrion	F	Brentwood, Tenn. (Wisconsin)
7	Brian Strait	D	Waltham, Mass. (Boston University)
9	Kyle Okposo	F	St. Paul, Minn (Minnesota)
10	Rhett Rakhshani	F	Huntington Beach, Calif. (Denver)
11	Matt Rust	F	Bloomfield HIlls, Mich. (Michigan)
12	James vanRiemsdyk	F	Middletown, N.J. (New Hampshire)
15	Tyler Ruegsegger	F	Lakewood, Colo. (Denver)
16	Chris Summers	D	Milan, Mich. (Michigan)
17	Max Pacioretty	F	New Canaan, Conn. (Michigan)
19	Mike Carman	F	Apple Valley, Minn. (Minnesota)
20	Bobby Sanguinetti	D	Lumberton, N.J. (Brampton Battalion)
21	Bill Sweatt	F	Elburn, Ill. (Colorado College)
22	Ryan Flynn	F	Lino Lakes, Minn. (Minnesota)
23	Kevin Montgomery	D	Rochester, N.Y. (London Knights)
24	Jonathon Blum	D	Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Vancouver Giants)
27	Cade Fairchild	D	Duluth, Minn. (Minnesota)
28	Ian Cole	D	Ann Arbor, Mich. (Notre Dame)
29	Jordan Schroeder	F	Prior Lake, Minn. (U.S. NTDP)
30	Jeremy Smith	G	Brownstown, N.Y. (Plymouth Whalers)
33	Colin Wilson	F	Greenwich, Conn (Boston University)
34	Joe Palmer	G	Yorkville, N.Y. (Ohio State)

TEAM CANADA SCHEDULE

Canada has won three straight World Junior Championships. Wisconsin freshman forward Kyle Turris is the lone collegian on the Canadian squad.

Date	Opponent	Result	Time (EST)/Recap
Dec. 26	Czech Republic	W 3-0	Jonathan Bernier made 44 saves for Canada. John Tavares added a pair of goals.
Dec. 27	Slovakia	W 2-0	Turris scored both goals on the power play for Canada.
Dec. 29	Sweden	L 4-3	Sweden ended Canada's 20-game win streak in World Junior play. Turris assisted on Canada's third goal.
Dec. 31	Denmark	W 4-1	Turris scored two goals as Canada bounced back from the loss to Sweden.
Jan. 2	Quarterfinal Finland	W 4-2	Canada scored three third-period goals to advance to the WJC semifinals for the 10th straight year. Turris assisted on Brad Marchand's game-winning goal.
Jan. 4	Semifinal United States	W 4-1	Turris extended his WJC point streak to five games with an assist on Karl Alzner's game-winning goal in the second period.
Jan. 5	Gold Medal Game Sweden	W 3-2 ot	Matt Halischuk scored 3:36 into overtime to give Canada its fourth straight WJC title. Turris, who assisted on Canada's second goal, finished in a tie for fourth in the tournament with eight points.
* Note - Michigan forward Carl Hagelin, who played for Sweden, did not score in six games.