GOTHENBURG, Sweden – The U.S. National Junior Team got a win in their opening game of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, but it was not the walk in the park they may have anticipated. 

• Team USA's Projected Lineup For The Tournament
• Rutger McGroarty Named Team USA's Captain
• Follow FloHockey's 2024 IIHF World Juniors coverage

Norway played the U.S. tough and held at bay an offensive attack that includes 10 first-round NHL Draft picks before ultimately dropping a 4-1 decision to the Americans. Gavin Brindley (CBJ) scored twice for Team USA and Trey Augustine made 22 saves as Team USA got off to a 1-0-0-0 start at the World Juniors.

ANOTHER ONE!
Gavin Brindley (CBJ) doubles the #TeamUSA 🇺🇸 lead on the powerplay to make it 2-0 over Norway.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/SDOSdbPScU

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 26, 2023

The Americans controlled the second half of the game. Though Team USA gave up a shorthanded goal in the third period, they stifled Norway's attack otherwise. The third-period saw the Americans outshoot Norway 18-2 in the final frame in a period that seemed more indicative of their quality, but it was the first half of the game that will stick in USA's craw.

Norway peppered Augustine with quality scoring chances and managed to get that one shorthanded tally behind him, making sure the American netminder was well tested. Through two periods, shots were 26-21 USA.

"I thought it wasn't a great start for us. We draw the two penalties early, they do a good job on their kill and I thought [Norway] came out swinging," said USA head coach David Carle following the game. "They played well, played on their toes.

"I thought we got better as the game went on. For a lot of our guys, some of our young guys, that was their first time just getting into a World Junior game and seeing the pace, the physicality and the intensity of it. I think that's a good thing for us and a good starting point to build from."

Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) got the U.S. on the board at 9:59 of the second period, breaking the Americans out of their scoring woes and lifting some pressure off of them. 

#TeamUSA 🇺🇸 strikes first with this goal from Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) 👀

It's 1-0 USA

Seamus Casey (NJD) and Will Smith (SJS) get the assists pic.twitter.com/noehxhXCKL

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 26, 2023

Brindley followed McGroarty's tally with a pair of his own to help the U.S. pull further away.

After Norway's shorthanded goal in the third period, USA immediately answered back on that same power play with Isaac Howard (TBL) redirecting a Cutter Gauthier (PHI) pass.

Brindley was named Team USA's player of the game, while Norway goalie Markus Stensrud received the honor for his team.

Team USA is off Wednesday before getting back to action against Switzerland on Dec. 28.

What We Learned From USA's 4-1 Win

Gavin Brindley is a buzzsaw

A returning player who wears many hats for USA including killing penalties and playing on the power play, Brindley also played the role of goal scorer. As the Americans struggled to find the net early in the game, Brindley scored a pair of goals in the second period that helped break the game open more.

He scored one on the power play and grabbed another one thanks to good effort on the puck and working his way to the middle for a devastating shot.

Bar ⬇️ Brindley makes it 3-0 #TeamUSA 🇺🇸 and the stars and stripes are rolling now 🫣#WorldJuniorspic.twitter.com/ilFeipD4wc

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 26, 2023

Brindley’s speed was a factor throughout the game as he challenged defenders and was hard on the forecheck. 

After the game, Brindley said he had just gotten over being sick and was happy just to be able to play in the game. He also noted that his playing in all situations at Michigan helped him prepare for the World Junior grind.

USA’s skill advantage is noticeable, but they’ll need more than that

If the U.S. thought they were going to come into the tournament and just zip pucks around the opposition, they are learning how hard that can be. It’s a good lesson to learn, especially against a team they probably thought they’d blow out.

You could see the nerves of the American players in the decisions they were making through the first 30 minutes of the game. Extra passes, passing up shots for the lower-percentage option, turning pucks over in the neutral zone, poor puck management overall, nearly put them behind if not for Trey Augustine’s (DET) outstanding presence in net. Augustine may have been the difference in the game early.

When the goals weren’t coming in the first half of the game, frustration was definitely setting in and only compounded the issues USA faced. They spent much of the early second period killing penalties.

This U.S. team has all the flash in the world and it’s entertaining when it works, but simpler plays went unmade far too often. In tighter-checking games, that stuff won’t fly. Norway had a pretty good counter attack, but other teams in this tournament will be better and will take better advantage of those costly mistakes.

If Team USA plays more like it did in the third period than the first 30 to 40 minutes of the game, they're going to have a lot more success.

Norway is not who we thought they were

Make no mistake, USA with all of its talent and all of its offensive firepower should have had a far better result with a far more lopsided score, but they didn’t because Norway was far better than anyone anticipated.

There are some legit NHL prospects on the roster and goaltender Markus Stensrud played out of his mind at the beginning of the game. Norway had pace, they played with jam and, at various points, were the more physical team. It was a wakeup call for an American side that was expected to steamroll Norway.

Markus Stensrud keeps this game scoreless! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/2DB4FhGlUM

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2023

It also puts the rest of the group on notice that three points will not be easy to come by from the Norwegians. That’s great for the tournament and a major positive for Norway’s hockey federation. 

Now we’ll have to find out if it was just a great night for Norway or a sign of things to come.

Notable Stats

• Lane Hutson (MTL) led all U.S. players in ice time with 22:56.
• Team USA won nearly 73% of the faceoffs in the game. Will Smith (SJS) won 14 of 17 faceoffs (82.35%), while Cutter Gauthier won 13 of 17 (76%)
• USA went 2-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill

Stray Observations

• Rutger McGroarty (WPG) was in the starting lineup after uncertainty about his health coming into USA’s training camp. The captain showed some signs of rust, which was to be expected after six weeks on the shelf. He had a couple of good looks, but is still clearly working his way back. After the game, McGroarty gave a harsh assessment of his performance stating he needs to be better and not wanting to use his extended time off as an excuse.
• Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) scored USA’s first goal of the game and that seemed to lift a weight off the team after it went in. Snuggerud has a dangerous release and was probably never going to miss from the slot where he let the shot go. He had a very strong pre-tournament and getting one early is going to help. "That's what Snuggy does, he scores big goals," said McGroarty.
• I had never seen Norway defenseman Stian Solberg (2024) play before, but I’m going to be watching a whole lot more tape on him now. The 2024 NHL Draft eligible is a 6-foot-2 left -shot defenseman who was among the most physical players for either team in the game. Currently playing in the Norwegian pro league, I have a feeling a few more scouts are going to be booking flights to Norway in the second half. He stood out in a major way, especially with his sturdy, physical defending. He led all players with 24:40 played.
• Trey Augustine (DET) was dialed in for his first start. That was a much tougher game than probably he or anyone else on Team USA anticipated, but he played especially well when his team just didn’t have it out the gates. He finished the game with 22 saves.

2024 World Juniors TV Broadcast Information

The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship is shown in several countries by broadcasters on TV and/or stream.

• Canada: TSN, RDS, TSN radio
• Czechia: Ceska TV, Czech radio
• Finland: Discovery
• Germany:  Magenta Sport, Thinxpool
• Latvia: TV6, tv3.lv
• Norway: TV2
• Slovakia: JOJ
• Sweden: SVT, NENT/Viasat, Swedish radio
• Switzerland: MySports
• Ukraine: Xsport
• USA: NHL Network, ESPN+ (select non-USA games)

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