GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- A first-period hat trick from Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) helped put the U.S. National Junior Team in control early and they never looked back, beating Switzerland 11-3 in their second game at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. Snuggerud finished with four points in the contest, picking up an assist on USA's fifth goal of the game.

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Gavin Brindley (CBJ) scored two goals in the game, while Frank Nazar (CHI) led the way with four assists, including on both of Brindley's goals. Meanwhile, Cutter Gauthier (PHI), Isaac Howard (TBL) and Zeev Buium (2024) each registered multi-point games. Fourteen different players on USA's roster scored at least one point in the game.

Things got started early in the first period as Will Smith (SJS) scored 1:40 into the opening frame off of a nice feed from Buium. Then it was Snuggerud's turn as he scored each of USA's next three goals over a span of fewer than 10 minutes in the game. Switzerland's Gregory Weber did score once during Snuggerud's onslaught to try to keep the Swiss in it.

That's a first-period hat trick for Jimmy Snuggerud (STL)!

12:34 into the game so he has plenty of time for another three... Right?🤔#TeamUSA #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/Ao9Vr3ZZaf

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 28, 2023

Buium then scored by banking a pass off of a Swiss defenseman's skate to end the first period 5-1 in favor of the Americans.

The second period didn't get much better for the Swiss, who had changed goaltenders after the fourth U.S. goal. Ewan Huet gave up the goal to Buium and then four more in the second period as Team USA broke the game open even further with goals by Brindley, Ryan Leonard (WSH) and Howard.

In the final frame, Switzerland kept pushing back, registering a pair of goals, but Team USA's Quinn Finley (NYI) and Eric Pohlkamp (SJS) each notched their first ever World Junior goals to account for the 11-3 final.

USA goalie Jacob Fowler made 21 saves on 24 shots against in his IIHF debut. Snuggerud was named Team USA's player of the game.

What We Learned From USA's 11-3 Win

USA's Top Line Was Dialed In

From the puck drop, Team USA's top line helped set the tone for the game. They had dominant shift after dominant shift as Jimmy Snuggerud put three goals past Switzerland goaltenders before the Swiss even managed three shots on goal for the game. 

As good as Snuggerud was, Cutter Gauthier was driving that line in a real way, winning faceoffs, getting to loose pucks and forcing turnovers with his strength and quickness. Gauthier finished the game with three assists, all coming in the first period.

...and with his second of the night... Jimmy Snuggerud (STL)

3-0 #TeamUSA#WorldJuniorspic.twitter.com/Bz9WFwPFrF

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 28, 2023

McGroarty only ended up with one assist in the game, but still managed to find more ways to be impactful compared to his first game where he wasn't happy with his performance. Coach David Carle credited McGroarty for forcing an icing that led to Snuggerud's goal right off the faceoff. 

Having the team's veterans cooking as the games get harder was a big plus in the way this game played out. The trio of Gauthier, Snuggerud and McGroarty able to rest much of the third period, not playing on any power plays and just taking a few shifts as the American attack throttled down.

Zeev Buium Breaks Out

One of the real bright spots of the game, among many, was young defenseman Zeev Buium (2024), who had a goal and an assist in a breakout performance. His game-opening shift helped lead to Team USA's first goal as he made some higher-skill plays at the offensive blue line before finding Will Smith (SJS) down low for the game's opening goal. 

Will Smith (SJS) gets #TeamUSA going early in their second game of the #WorldJuniors 🏒 pic.twitter.com/0DbSpWtTSB

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 28, 2023

Buium said after the game that he felt he was moving better overall and got his legs under him a bit after a shaky start. Going back to the pre-tournament games and against Norway in the tournament opener, Buium never looked completely comfortable. The confidence came out against Switzerland, though, as he played with the puck a lot more and was able to make confident, skilled plays while also jumping into plays with greater regularity.

Additionally, Buium was on the ice for seven of USA's 11 goals today and just one against while leading all USA players in ice time with 18:57 in the game.

Considering our next observation, having Buium going was a big plus as he was able to be played in more situations and get more shifts down the stretch as USA was able to exercise its bench much more with the game so far out of hand after the first period.

Some Blue Line Concerns Remain

Coming into the tournament, the biggest questions about the U.S. makeup was their defensive structure. With four of their starting seven under 6-feet, size remains a deficit for the team. Against Switzerland, there were a couple of instances where that showed up again and those were also evident against Norway. 

You don't really want to nitpick too much off of a game as out of hand as this one, but a few of USA's top defensemen didn't necessarily have the cleanest game. Buium was certainly an exception as he had his best showing since the team arrived in Sweden, but both Seamus Casey (NJD) and Lane Hutson (MTL) had some tough moments defensively that would be costlier against better teams. They're not big players, so positioning is so critical and there were a few instances where they struggled. 

Hutson didn't have a point in the game and Casey had an assist. But both also had some tough miscues with the puck and a few off the puck as well that will need to be cleaned up as the U.S. has no soft games left on their schedule.

As the games get more important, USA is going to need their D corps to be dependable with the puck and, as David Carle noted, defending entries better than they have so far.

Key Stats

• USA won 62.3 of its faceoffs in the game with Frank Nazar winning 10 of 14 draws in the game for USA's top percentage of 71.4.
• Over the first two periods, Team USA had nearly 70% of the shots on goal in the game, with a 29-13 advantage. They finished with 62.5% of the total shots on goal in the game with a 40-24 final shot count.
• USA's power play was 2-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on penalty kill. 

Gavin Brindley (CBJ) gets his first of the night to make it a 6-1 #TeamUSA 🇺🇸 lead in their second game of these #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/NZn0AVTdAv

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 28, 2023

Stray Observations

• Frank Nazar is Team USA's No. 3 center and doesn't play on the power play regularly, but he had a massive game where he showed how valuable he can be. With four assists, the University of Michigan sophomore had his best showing since the team arrived overseas. Playing with Brindley and Howard, Nazar has good chemistry with that duo, but he got into a rhythm where he could play with anyone and be effective.
• Jacob Fowler had a decent showing in his IIHF debut for Team USA in what was a mostly difficult game to assess his play. There would be long-stretches without much action and there were a few breakdowns in front that led to some easy scoring chances most teams are going to finish at this tournament. In the end, Fowler finished with 21 saves on 24 shots. 

Team USA Schedule

• Dec. 26: USA vs. Norway, 4-1 W
• Dec. 28: Switzerland vs. USA, 11-3 W
• Dec. 29: Czechia vs. USA, 11 a.m. EST
• Dec. 31: USA vs. Slovakia, 6 a.m. EST

World Juniors Stream, Television Info In 2023-2024

The World Juniors Championships will air on the NHL Network in the United States. Select games not involving the United States will be available to stream live on ESPN+.

World Juniors Hockey On TSN In Canada

In Canada, the event will be televised on TSN and streamed. The tournament will also be streamed on TSN's digital platforms.

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