GOTHENBURG, Sweden – The quarterfinals at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship are set and ready to be played Tuesday, Jan. 2 in Gothenburg. The United States has the No. 1 overall seed heading into the medal round as the only unbeaten team in the tournament. As a result, they'll play Latvia, which finished fourth in Group A thanks to its lone win over Germany.

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• 2024 World Juniors Quarterfinals Schedule Set

The teams that win their quarterfinal matchups will advance to the semifinals, where they will be re-seeded with the top team playing the lowest-remaining seed and so on. All semifinals and medal games will be played in Gothenburg’s Scandinavium. Should USA beat Latvia, they'll play the lowest-remaining seed.

This year’s quarterfinal is loaded with six teams that should feel they have a legitimate shot at winning the gold medal, including Team USA, which is looking for redemption after having to settle for bronze in Halifax last year.

To get you ready for each QF matchup, FloHockey is doing a quick breakdown of each quarterfinal which will feature a number of NHL prospects and often plenty of drama. Here's a look at USA's quarterfinal showdown with Latvia.

2024 World Juniors Quarterfinal Matchup Schedule

Slovakia vs. Finland, 6 a.m. ET (Frölundaborg)

Canada vs. Czechia, 8:30 a.m. ET (Scandinavium)

USA vs. Latvia, 11 a.m. ET (Frölundaborg)

Sweden vs. Switzerland, 1:30 p.m. ET (Scandinavium)

No. 1B USA (3-1-0-0) vs. No. 4A Latvia (1-0-0-3)

The U.S. picked up the No. 1 overall seed coming into this game and will likely leave with a lot more goals under their belt. Latvia plays hard and this age group of theirs has created some issues for other teams, but against the top-class teams this year they haven’t put up much of a fight.

Latvia beat Germany to get themselves into the playoff round, but lost each of their other three games. They enter the quarterfinals having allowed the second most goals against and having scored the fewest goals of any team in the tournament to date. They also have the worst power play and second-worst penalty kill.

USA meanwhile enters the game with seven returning players, two top tier goalies and a host of future NHL talents at their disposal. On paper, there is no bigger mismatch in the tournament yet as the Americans have scored 29 goals and are plus-20 on goal differential in the tournament, the highest of any team. The 29 goals USA scored are the most they've tallied in the preliminary round since the World Juniors became a 10-team tournament in 1996.

So... Yeah. Gavin Brindley (CBJ) just did this.
Shorthanded.
Less than 30 seconds into the second period.

3-1 #TeamUSA 🇺🇸#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/RHB6ZuqVJd

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 31, 2023

They’re also coming off of a game where they rolled over Slovakia 10-2 despite the Slovaks boasting one of the better rosters in this tournament. That game felt like a statement from a U.S. team that had not yet played its best. 

As of right now the U.S. has three players tied for second in tournament scoring with eight points including Gavin Brindley (CBJ), who leads the tournament with six goals. Cutter Gauthier (PHI) also has eight points (1-7) and Frank Nazar (CHI) leads the tournament with eight assists.

The only thing really slowing USA down at this point is the apparent stomach bug that has cost multiple players one game so far in the tournament. 

There are a couple of unknowns that should become clearer in this game against Latvia. The first is who Team USA's No. 1 goalie will be. They have started both Trey Augustine (DET) and Jacob Fowler (MTL) twice. Augustine is the incumbent starter and has played very well, while Fowler also had some key moments.

USA has the easiest quarterfinal of any of the teams, but can't get caught looking too far ahead. They should roll past Latvia, but need to maintain the improvement they've shown game over game going back to the preliminary round, because they have clearly been building.

Key Players To Watch USA-Latvia Quarterfinal Matchup

Cutter Gauthier, C, USA (PHI): After finally netting his first goal of the tournament, Cutter Gauthier has to feel like he broke the seal. He’s a goal scorer first and foremost, but he’s made a ton of plays in this tournament. Now that he has a goal, the flood gates could open, especially against a team like Latvia that has bled goals in all but one game this tournament.

Rutger McGroarty (WPG) goes and sneaks one over Urban's shoulder as he completes the hatty 🎩🧢👒#TeamUSA #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/pO6nX66NgB

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 31, 2023

Sandis Vilmanis, C, Latvia (FLA): The only player with more than one goal on Latvia’s roster, Vilmanis has long been one of the leaders of this age group. Playing in his third and final World Juniors, I’d expect him to go all out in the game. USA is too deep for Latvia to challenge, but players like Vilmanis can hang with the top players.

Prediction

USA 11 - Latvia 1

2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Quarterfinals 

The quarterfinals begin on Jan. 2, 2024 with four games starting at 6 a.m. EST and the final game scheduled for 1:30 p.m. 

2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Semifinals

The semifinals begin on Jan. 4 with games starting at 6 a.m. EST and finishing at 1:30 p.m. 

2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Finals

The Bronze Medal Game of the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships begins at 9 a.m. EST on Jan. 5. 

The Gold Medal Game is at 1:30 p.m. EST.  

World Juniors Stream In 2023- 2024

The World Juniors Championships will air the NHL Network in the U.S.. Select games will be available on ESPN+.

World Juniors Hockey On TSN In Canada

In Canada, the event will be televised on TSN and streamed on TSN+.

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