MONCTON, New Brunswick – In the words of Team USA head coach Rand Pecknold, the U.S. got their “teeth kicked in” in their second game at the World Junior Championship. After taking a 2-1 lead into the second period, the U.S. collapsed over a span of 3:19 in the middle frame that saw their lead turn quickly into a 4-2 deficit before Slovakia ultimately earned a 6-3 decision.

The Slovaks, led by captain Simon Nemec (NJD) who had three assists over 25:31 of ice time, took advantage of many errors and turnovers by the U.S. to pull away. Nemec, however, deflected credit to goalie Adam Gajan (2023), who currently plays for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers, after the netminder made 33 saves including 14 in the third period to seal a massive victory for the Slovaks.

 As a result of the regulation loss, the U.S. now sits in fourth place in the group, with Switzerland, Finland and Slovakia – in that order – ahead of them. The good news for the Americans is that they're just one point out of first place. 

Another day, another upset at the #WorldJuniors! Slovakia rides a 3 goal second period to secure a big win over the United States! pic.twitter.com/tIkHGIDuva

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 28, 2022

The Americans’ loss came amid a spate of surprising results including Switzerland’s opening win over Finland and Czechia’s first-day win over Canada, marking a tournament that looks like it has more parity than any before and makes for a crazy amount of scenarios still in play for how the quarterfinal will be set up.

So let’s break it down all down with a look at what happened, what might be cause for concern, some player notes and a look at some key stats.

How It Happened?

The U.S. didn’t get off to a great start in the game, falling behind 1-0 after Libor Nemec managed to cut through the U.S. defense right to the goal-mouth where he was able to shove a puck through Kaiden Mbereko.

The U.S. answered back 2:28 later with a power-play goal from the front by Tyler Boucher (OTT), then struck again when Gavin Brindley (2023) deflected Lane Hutson’s (MTL) shot over Gajan to make it 2-1. Then it all got away from them. 

A second period meltdown was the main culprit for Team USA’s stunning loss. Poor puck management and a lack of discipline bit the Americans during a 3:19 span where Slovakia took over the game on the scoreboard.

The Slovaks were opportunistic, with Dalibor Dvorsky (2023) converting to tie the game on a power play that came on a penalty drawn after a U.S. turnover. Less than two minutes later, the Americans turned the puck over again, allowing Robert Baco to break down the right wing and rifle a shot over Mbereko. Then on a delayed penalty, Filip Mesar’s (MTL) pass caught a deflection and flipped over Mbereko to make it 4-2 and leave the U.S. reeling.

Filip Mesar gets a fortunate bounce off the stick of Charlie Stramel! It's now 4-2 Slovakia!! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/evGtJbJodh

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 28, 2022

When the Americans finally found their legs, Kenny Connors (LAK) took a penalty behind the play after finishing a check that was a little late and too far from the boards, resulting in a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding. It disrupted any momentum built and forced the Americans to kill the major penalty before they could try to get back on their front foot again.

But they never really found their front foot. Once Slovakia made it 5-2 in the third period, the U.S. had no real answer. They did manage to score once more on the power play with the goalie pulled, but a late empty-netter salted away any

“We played too loose,” Pecknold said after the game. “We’re giving up too many odd-man rushes. We’re nonchalant about defending and we need to get better. 

"We found a way to win on Monday and did not tonight. We got plenty of chances, I thought their goaltender was outstanding. He was the best player on the ice. We’ve got to defend better to be able to win games 2-1 and 3-2.”

U.S. Defense Corps Woes

The U.S. D corps was built with the idea that they could get pucks up ice quickly and make good, smart plays through the neutral zone, at the offensive blue line and in their own zone. That wasn’t really happening in any zone Wednesday.

I know Luke Hughes (NJD) had a couple of rough plays and he was on the ice for three goals against, but he was the only defenseman that seemed to be able to get pucks in good spots consistently. He had a few plays at the offensive blue line that show his elite instincts and skill, but also had a few of those unseemly giveaways that plagued Team USA’s blue line. That said, Hughes played 25 minutes and generated some of their best looks on the comeback trail in the third period.

Pecknold lamented the team’s puck management and said he’s felt that it’s been an issue even going back to the pre-tournament games and that simply can’t be the case if the U.S. has any hopes of doing something at this tournament.

Meanwhile, as Pecknold noted, they struggled to defend on top of not being able to move pucks and that’s a big cause for concern. According to the head coach's count, the U.S. gave up nine odd-man breaks or breakaways, which was the result of playing too loose and not managing pucks. 

Hughes played 25 minutes, but no other defenseman played more than 19. If you have to lean that heavily on one player, that does not bode well for playing seven games over 10 days. There just weren’t many guys the U.S. could trust with the puck on their stick, which is extra troublesome when puck-movement was supposed to be the strength of this D corps.

Lack of Scoring Punch

Through the two pre-tournament games and against Latvia, the Americans scored five goals in each of those contests, but I don't know that they ever looked offensively dominant in any of those games. They certainly didn't against Slovakia. 

That’s not to say they didn’t have chances. Slovakia’s goaltender was on his game and the U.S. got some very good looks.

USA’s top line of Logan Cooley (ARI), Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) and Cutter Gauthier (PHI) generated a number of chances, but the U.S. didn’t get nearly enough push from their second or third lines, though third-liner Boucher scored twice while on USA’s first power-play unit. The fourth line got the other goal as Brindley got the tip, but when you’ve only got two lines going, you’re not going to have great success, especially not when your defense is having a hard time getting pucks up ice.

A lot of USA’s issues offensively actually started in their own end, so that’s something you’d expect to improve as the tournament wears on, but they have to be more consistent about getting pucks into their skilled forwards' hands a lot more.

Now the Americans need a big result against a Swiss team that is unbeaten through its first two games. Team USA is deeper and more talented, but you could have said the same thing about today’s game and it simply didn’t matter. There’s a lot to work on.

USA Player Notes

Gavin Brindley (2023): I really liked Brindley’s first period in particular. He was flying and creating chances. He’s been good on the penalty kill and obviously got that big goal that gave the U.S. the lead in the first. He’s been a key piece of what makes USA’s fourth line deadly. Playing with his speed and tenacity is something the U.S. needs a lot more of.

Gavin Brindley tips home the Lane Hutson point shot, as the United States take the lead! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/DvYtYWGvA9

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 28, 2022

Tyler Boucher (OTT): Boucher did his job on the power play and was named U.S. player of the game for his efforts. As the net-front guy, he scored two goals from in tight and showed he had the finish to be dangerous in that spot. He didn't play as much at five-on-five with only 11:27 of ice time. He'll need to continue to be a strong net-front presence, but that third line also needs to make more of an impact at even strength than it did in this one. Either way, getting goals for Boucher and getting him warmed up is good news for the scoring depth.

Kaidan Mbereko (2023+): When you have two goals go in off your own players, that’s a tough bounce, but getting beat clean from the outside on Slovakia’s first goal was the one he’d want back. Mbereko was down early and the shot soared over him. It was a tough spot to give up that goal with the U.S. already on their back foot. That said, Mbereko made some key saves down the stretch that kept his team in the game. The fact he was able to battle through a tough stretch in the second period is a big positive. He was good in the third period as the Slovaks never relented in their pressure.

Kaidan Mbereko answers the call with two big saves, keeping the United States in the game #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/0Jqrzy5wRm

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 28, 2022

Luke Hughes (NJD): Hughes didn’t have a great game by his standards and was on the ice for three goals against, but he also had some of the best plays of the game that made USA more threatening offensively. With players like Hughes, you’re always going to live with the bad because the good is at a level that’s pretty special. I think that’s what we saw tonight. The U.S. had no problem throwing him over the boards as many times as possible, which shows you that the coaching staff didn't lose faith even when he had some struggles.

Logan Cooley (ARI): Cooley had an assist in the game and I thought he was probably USA’s best forward start to finish, but it took him a while to find his top gear. When he was going, he was creating a lot of opportunities and his speed just had no counter on the Slovakian side. A few good scoring chances he needs to finish were all that separated Cooley from having a big-time performance. He is the driving force of that top line and the U.S. desperately needs those guys to catch a little fire here.

Stats Of Note From The Game

• Slovakia won the faceoff battle, narrowly, but 2023 NHL Draft-eligible Dalibor Dvorsky was great at the dot winning 15 of 23 draws he took. The youngster also scored a power-play goal and was a factor throughout the game.
• Simon Nemec finished the game with three assists, finished plus-4 and played 25:31 in a duel of each of the New Jersey Devils’ top defense prospects with Luke Hughes on the other side.
• Team USA’s power play looked good, going 2-for-4, with the other goal coming seconds after the power play expired. A good special teams unit helps a lot, but you’ve got to be able to get the job done at 5-on-5, too.
• The U.S. generated just 21 shots through the first two periods of the game. They never really established control at any point, so when the game got away from them, they just didn’t seem to have the push back.

This could just be a one-off. Things can change quickly in the tournament, but Pecknold has been harping on puck management and the U.S. still hasn't figured out that element. If they don't, that's when it's time to get a little more panicky if you're a U.S. fan. The good news for them is they get a chance to get right back at it Thursday with a hugely important game against a Swiss team against which little has come easy. It should be a good test to see where this U.S. squad is at in terms of their ability to be resilient and find that offensive gear that's been missing a bit.

Stay tuned for more commentary on the World Juniors throughout this week and follow @chrismpeters on Twitter for live updates throughout every U.S. game.