World Juniors

Greetings from HSBC Arena, which is filled with boos at the introduction of U.S. forward Emerson Etem. The kid Tweeted that Buffalo is the worst city ever, and that city is letting him know its thoughts.

FIRST PERIOD

8:09 p.m.: Game on.

8:11 p.m.: Once again, this building is half-empty for the American game a few hours after being filled for the Canadian game. If the teams meet in the final, it'll be a home game for the Canadians.

8:13 p.m.: Etem gets the puck and takes a shot, and he gets roundly booed again. He returned to the bench and got an encouraging tap from assistant coach Phil Housley.

8:17 p.m.: The Americans take a 1-0 lead with 15:29 left on a goal by Kyle Palmieri. Charlie Coyle carried the puck into the Slovak zone and fed a driving Coyle at the top of the crease for a tap-in.

8:20 p.m.: The U.S. team, already down two forwards with the upper-body injuries to Brock Nelson and Jeremy Morin, had Jerry D'Amigo take an illegal hard hit with 13:18 left. The forward had the puck along the boards when Slovak defenseman Peter Hrasko skated in and delivered a shoulder to Amigo's head. He stayed down for a while but skated to the bench on his own. Hrasko was given a game misconduct and five-minute major.

8:24 p.m.: Palmieri's power-play goal with 11:58 left gives the U.S. a 2-0 lead. A shot by Jon Merrill went wide with the Americans pressuring, and Palmieri buried it from the side of the net.

8:26 p.m.: The Americans have an 11-1 shot edge with 10:10 left.

8:29 p.m.: D'Amigo is back.

8:30 p.m.: The booing for Etem is getting louder and louder. It's happening every time he touches the puck.

8:37 p.m.: The Americans have built a 15-1 edge in shots with 2:38 left.

8:38 p.m.: Team USA is back on the power play with Adam Janosik off for holding Palmieri with 1:55 left.

8:43 p.m.: A dominating first period comes to a close for the Americans, who hold a 2-0 lead and 22-1 shot edge. Yes, 22-1. Slovak goalie Dominik Riecicky took a longggg drink of water before heading to the dressing room. I'd be asking for Maple Whiskey instead. Oh, wait, it's the under-20 tournament. Never mind.

SECOND PERIOD

8:59 p.m.: And they're back, including Riecicky, who didn't go for the Sortilege apparently.

9 p.m.: Etem touches the puck 30 seconds in, booing ensues.

9:01 p.m.: Mock cheer from the sparse crowd when the Slovaks get their second shot of the game with 18:40 left. Tough crowd.

9:02 p.m.: Another mock with 17:49 left for the third shot. Break up the Slovaks, they're on a tear!

9:04 p.m.: Delay of game on Andrej Kudrna gives U.S. team another power play with 16:51 left.

9:06 p.m.: The Americans take a 3-0 lead on a power-play goal by Coyle with 16:04 to go. Palmieri picks up the primary assist for his third point of the game.

9:10 p.m.: Team USA hits a commercial break at 13:11 with a 3-0 lead and 29-6 shot edge.

9:11 p.m.: Another power play for the U.S. as Peter Trska goes off for hooking with 12:46 to go.

9:16 p.m.: This is an absolute mismatch. The Slovaks are taking a steady stream of penalties to keep the Americans off the board. Oliver Jokel hooks streaking defenseman Justin Faulk with 9:08 to go to prevent a scoring chance.

9:18 p.m.: Another power-play goal, this one by Chris Brown, gives the Americans a 4-0 lead with 8:13 to go.

9:21 p.m.: The Slovaks get a rise from the crowd and allow the Canadians to start mocking U.S. goalie Jack Campbell as Tomas Jurco scores with 7:34 left to make it 4-1.

9:23 p.m.: The American fans get their vocal on with 6:28 left when Drew Shore scores unassisted with 6:28 left. The goal left Riecicky shaking his head as Shore undressed a Slovak defenseman on the way to the net. The U.S. team gets a taste of a Buffalo tradition, with the fans goal countdown ending with "We want six!"

9:28 p.m.: The Americans get their sixth, and it's by Etem. The crowd was booing when he went to shoot, cheered when he scored with 3:03 left, then started booing again.

9:29 p.m.: The crowd lustily boos when Etem's goal is announced.

9:32 p.m.: The Americans head to the dressing room with a 6-1 lead and 43-11 shot edge. The Slovaks put Riecicky out of his misery after Etem's goal, pulling him for backup Juraj Holly. Riecicky faced 40 shots in less than 37 minutes.

THIRD PERIOD

9:49 p.m.: The teams return to play out the string of an American victory.

9:53 p.m.: Etem takes a shot and gets booed. Etem shown on scoreboard skating to bench, booing continues.

9:57 p.m.: All's quiet as the Americans hold a 6-1 lead and 47-12 shot edge with 13:36 to go.

10:10 p.m.: The banged-up Americans take another big blow, with Jason Zucker assisted off the ice after a blantant cheap shot by Martin Marincin. Zucker hit Adam Janosik along the boards, and Marincin skated in to blindside Zucker with an elbow to the head. Zucker looked beyond dazed when helped off with 7:51 to go.

10:21 p.m.: The U.S. takes over first place in Group A with a convincing 6-1 victory. The Americans dominated the shot clock to the tune of 57-18.

---John Vogl

Third Period:

16:51: Here we go. Game will come down to Lehner, a goalie Sabres fans may know more of soon. The Senators prospect has been on his game. Up next, power play for the Swedes.

15:25: Shorthanded, Russia catches the Swedes pinching and nearly make them pay. Anton Burdasov shoots off the odd-man rush and Lehner sprawls out to make the stop. Great read, great save. In other news, hasn't the shelf life of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" passed weeks ago?

10:00: Blown chance by Russia. Nikita Dvurechenski has a wide open -- WIDE OPEN -- net but whiffs on the puck. Dwyner Arena erupts into laughter.

4:57: More of the same from Lehner. He's getting in Russia's head at this point.

1:50: Hooking on Russia. That's probably the game. Fans file to the exits as a few Sweden fans hoist their beers.

0:00: That'll be all. Sweden wins, 2-0.

Second Period:

17:51: Lehner picks up exactly where he left off, stopping a pair of close-range shots from Kitsyn. 

17:18: Sweden's Cehlin gets two minutes for checking from behind. Russians teeing off but can't solve Lehner. Ottawa has itself a find. 

13:51: Second period is flying by. Sweden nearly got a third goal just now with a slapper from the point but Russia's Dmitri Shikin gloved it. 

10:26: Rebound bounces off Shikin's pads and Sweden's Oscar Lindberg nearly slam dunks it. Still 2-0. 

9:25: Lots of time left but it feels like Sweden's foot is on the jugular.

7:33: After some hearty 4-on-4, with Sweden threatening more, it remains 2-0. Shikin is giving up a lot of rebounds. Swedes should really crash the net as much as possible.

2:01: Russian fans try chanting Sweden names from behind the glass. Pretty funny. Whatever name they try, it's not working. Swedes' transition 'D' is quick. Not many scoring chances for Russia out there.

1:19: Sweden's J. Larsson gets a dumb penalty there -- charging. No need to give Russia life at the end of period.

0:00: Russian defenseman Dmitri Orlov uncorks two whistlers from the blue line with 20 seconds to go but Lehner is there. After two, the score remains 2-0 Sweden.

First Period:

18:00: Russia coming out fast. Trying to set a tone physically with an aggressive forecheck.

15:16: First stoppage. Both teams are flying early. High-energy play. One Russian checked a Swede over his own bench.

12:55: Both teams assessed roughing penalties after an ugly altercation. Trying to break up a scrum, one official was actually knocked to the ground. Yes, Russia is trying to play hardball.

As far as hockey goes, it doesn't get much more exciting than 4-on-4 at the junior level.

9:38: Sweden isn't backing down. Adam Larsson, a top '11 draft prospect, finished a couple checks on shifts early. Still scoreless as both teams adapt to the smaller, compressed rink at Dwyer.

9:11: GOAL, Sweden. Anton Lander tucks it away close to the net. 1-0.

6:24: Momentum really on Swedes' side. Their speed is wearing on the Russians. Russia hasn't had a legit scoring chance in a while.

5:49: GOAL, Sweden. Calle Jarnkrok slices a perfect 2-on-1 pass to Jesper Fasth. 2-0, Sweden.

2:09: Russia blows a great chance there. Working behind the net, Anton Burdasov tries jamming the puck inside Lehner's left skate but is denied.

1:40: (Read above) A juicy rebound leaks out to Russia's Maxim Kitsyn but he can't bury it. Lehner makes a succession of saves before finally covering up and -- probably out of frustration -- Russia players try baiting the Swedes again. Crowd loves it.

And after all of it, Lehner gets issued a roughing penalty.

0:00: Great first period. Sweden catches Russia napping on its second goal to put a ton of pressure on them. Could Russia really start WJC 0-2?

----

One team is fresh off a 7-1 beatdown. The other is off a humbling 6-3 loss. Things could get interesting here at Dwyer Arena where Russia looks to avenge its emotionally charged defeat to Canada. One of the world's proudest hockey institutions, what with 14 all-time medals in the WJC, surely doesn't want to start the tourney 0-2.

Tonight is no gimmie. The Swedes looked like an early favorite in whipping Norway a couple days ago. They can flat out fly. Gabriel Landeskog, who had a goal and an assist against Norway, is out with a foot injury. That'll hurt. But the Swedes will have Robin Lehner in net. You AHL buffs might know him. He'll be fresh after sitting out the opener.

Expect some great hockey here tonight. We'll have all the live updates right here.

Here's your starting lineup:

RUSSIA --- Shikin (G), Orlov (D), Urychev (D), Tarasenko (F), Kitsyn (F), Sobchenko (F).

SWEDEN --- Lehner (G), Erixon (D), Nemeth (D), J. Larsson (F), Fasth (F), Jarnkrok (F).

Bummer of the day? One diehard Sweden fan (from Buffalo) told me just now that he wasn't allowed to bring his Swedish flag in.

---Tyler Dunne

Hello again from HSBC Arena. Sorry for no elaborate intros, just got done with the first game story on Finland's 4-0 win over Switzerland.

Here we go: Canada and the Czech Republic. Entirely different atmosphere. Let's get to it.

First Period

4:09 p.m.: Game is on.

19:11 left: Whoa. That was quick. It's 1-0 Czech Republic. Antonin Honejsek scores unassisted 49 seconds into the game, taking a turnover in the neutral zone by Ryan Ellis and skating around defenseman Dylan Olsen. Honejsek's shot caught the right post behind Team Canada goalie Olivier Roy and went in.

15:46 left: Pretty good chance from the high slot by Canada's Curtis Hamilton is swallowed up by Czech goalie Filip Novotny.

15:25 left: Power play for the Czechs as Casey Cizikas goes to the box on a questionable tripping call. Thunderstick-banging Canadian fans didn't like it. I don't like thundersticks.

13:25 left: Power play over. Canada back at full strength.

12:44 left: Novotny makes a glove save on Ellis. First break. I think I need to catch my breath more than the players.

11:41 left: Bad turnover by Czech defenseman Jakub Jerabek, but he gets away with it when Sabres' draftee Zack Kassian shoots wide from alone in front. Break there. Shots, by the way, are 7-1 for Canada. Yes, the Czechs have scored on their only shot.

9:45 left: Another "Go, Canada, Go" chant. About the 10th of the game so far.

9:32 left: Cizikas takes his second penalty of the first period, this time for plowing over Novotny. Goalie interference.

7:24 left: Another good kill for the Canadians. Shots are 9-2 as we take another short break here. Good work by Louis LeBlanc of Canada to kill off the dying seconds of that penalty.

5:43 left: Power play chance for the Canadians. Martin Frk is in the box for the Czechs for holding.

5:17 left: Tie game. Brayden Schenn makes it 1-1. Ryan Johansen carried the puck into the Czech zone with a head of steam, drawing defenseman Martin Planek to him. That left Schenn open on the left and he took Johansen's pass and blasted high past Novotny.

3:32 left: Another power play for Canada. Petr Senkerik to the box for cross checking.

3:20 left: That was quick. It's 2-1 Canada as Jaden Schwartz accepts a nice cross-ice pass from Schenn and beats Novotny just 12 seconds into the power play. Canada won the draw and cycled the puck around until Schenn found Schwartz. Ellis gets his second assist of the period.

4:44 p.m.: End of the first period, with Canada up, 2-1. Shots are 14-2 in a dominant last 19:11 for our neighbors to the north.

Second Period

5:00 p.m.: It's 5 o'clock on the dot. I'm not in my drop top, but we're back.

17:56 left: Canadian defenseman Calvin de Hann slow to skate off after taking a big hit in the corner by Czech foward Michal Hlinka. We'll have to see if he can make it back out.

15:50 left: A much better period thus far for the Czechs. No goals, but some good shifts in the Canadian end.

14:07 left: Silence here in HSBC Arena. Kassian is ejected with a five-minute match penalty for a hit to the head. Kassian hit Czech forward Petr Senkerik in the neutral zone with a shoulder. The Czech skater dropped immediately to the ice and did not move. He was attended to by at least 10 trainers and support staff before being wheeled off the ice on a stretcher.

10:40 left: Louis LeBlanc scores for Canada to make it 3-1. LeBlanc worked a short-handed 2-on-1 with Schenn and beat Novotny to the far post. There’s still 1:34 left on Kassian’s major penalty.

6:51 left: Ellis makes it 4-1 for our northerly neighbors. On a delayed penalty, he gets open in the slot and takes another perfect pass from Schenn and beats Novotny five-hole.

:16.3 left: Cody Eakin makes it 5-1 Canada. He accepts a perfect pass from Cizikas and beats Novotny high as the Canadians are rolling.

End Second: Shots are 26-13 in favor of Canada. As you can tell from our problems, the wireless here in HSBC Arena is acting shakier than Lindsay Lohan. We’ll do our best to keep you updated in the third period.

Third Period

5:55 p.m.: Game's back, hopefully we can say the same for the wireless. It's 5-1 Canada.

14:49 left: It's turning ugly here. Frk ejected for the Czechs for spearing. Five-minute power play for Canada upcoming.

12:13 left: Canada will have a 5-on-3 power play as Jakub Jerabek goes to the box for hooking.

10:48 left: The Czech parade to the penalty box continues. This time it's on Novotny, the goalie, for holding.

10:24 left: Tyson Barrie makes it 6-1 Canada.

UPDATE: Senkerik, the player hit by Kassian who left on a stretcher, will be ok. He has not left the arena, and is resting in the team's dressing room.

10:01 left: It's hopeless. I can't type as fast as Canada can score. This time, it's Jared Cowen on a slapshot from the right point.

9:00 left: Canadian fans are in their glory, starting the second wave of the day.

5:54 left: Czechs to the power play. Quinton Howden of Canada goes for tripping.

4:34 left: Look out! Roy ducks, probably not the best move when you're the goalie, and it gets past him. Jerabek scores from the point to make it 7-2. Won't change anything other than the box score.

Final: Canada cruises to a 7-2 win. Stick around the blog for John Vogl's coverage of Team USA against Slovakia.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

BUFFALO -- United States takes on Slovakia tonight at HSBC Arena to cap off a lineup of Day 3 games that will also see Canada face the Czech Republic this afternoon.

Hear News Sports Reporter Miguel Rodriguez explain who will be missing from Team USA, why Canada isn't discounting the Czechs and who Sabres fans should keep an eye on in this video:

First Period

12:39 p.m.: Game on.

15:44 left: Is this a Sabres game? It's quiet enough to be. One good chance for the Finns so far was turned back by Swiss goalie Benjamin Conz.

14:05 left: Shots are 6-1 Finland, but still no score.

13:35 left: A break in the action here as Conz just made his best save of the game, stoning Finnish forward Erik Haula in front on a 2-on-1 break. Great save.

11:37 left:It's 10-1 on the shots clock and seems just like a matter of tie before Finland cashes in. Henri Tuominen had the best recent chance, just missing from the doorstep. Couldn't tell if Conz caught a piece of it.

9:40 left: Conz smothers a point shot and we're halfway through the first with still no score. 11-1 shots, Finland.

9:20 left:Chance for the Swiss here. Finn defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka goes off for holding (looked like interference, but whatever). Game's first power play.

7:10 left: Still no score as the Swiss power play ends. Two good chances for defenseman Romain Loeffel on the advantage, but he shattered his stick on the first shot and was stopped from the high slot by Finn goalie Joni Ortio. It's bloopers time on the HSBC scoreboard. Mike Harrington must be happy he's not here.

6:25 left: Ortio stops Nino Niederreiter on a breakaway with a glove save, his best of the game.

5:30 left: Too many men on the ice penalty against Switzerland. Finland's first shot on the power play.

3:37 left: First goal? Nope. Joel Armia's shot for Finland hits the post and drops into the crease. The loose puck eventually crossed the line, but it was ruled that the Swiss net had been dislodged before the puck went into the net. No goal, still no score.

2:02 left: No goal on the power play, but Finland has taken momentum back. Shots are 14-5.

:19 left: Finland finally cashes in. Joonas Nattinen tips a point shot past Conz for a 1-0 lead. Nattinen is a third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens. Assists on the goal went to Toni Rajala and Jokipakka.

1:11 p.m.: End of the first period. Shots are 18-5 for Finland. Nice job by Conz of keeping his team close.

Second Period

1:27 p.m.: Game back on.

16:49 left: Still 1-0. Finland once again controlling play. Nearly all of the 3 minutes played in the second have been spent in the Swiss zone.

15:23 left: Jaako Turtiainen makes it 2-0 for Finland. He pounces on a loose puck in the left circle and drives one high past Conz. The goal was set up by a pretty give-and-go between Jokipakka and Joonas Donskoi. Jokipakka fanned on his shot, but it bounced to a wide-open Turtiainen.

9:52 left: Hooking penalty on Tuominen of Finland. Switzerland needs to do something with this power play.

9:02 left: Cheap, dirty hit by Sami Vatanen rightly earns him a two-minute boarding penalty. He's lucky it's not more. Two-man advantage for the Swiss.

7:35 left: After killing off the 5-on-3, Finland nearly adds another one, but Iiro Pakarinen is stopped on a short-handed breakaway.

6:45 left: Back to full strength, still 2-0.

3:36 left: The last few minutes have been like watching the Globetrotters vs. the Generals. Finland kept the puck in the Swiss zone for a good 90 seconds, but couldn't convert another goal, so it's still 2-0. Shots for the game are 24-7 for Teemu Selanne's countrymen. Oh, and they're doing the wave here in HSBC.

3:16 left: Swiss forward Sven Bartschi splits the Finnish defense and crashes into Ortio. He puts himself into the net, but not the puck.

1:58 p.m.: End of the second, 2-0, Finland. Shots are 25-9, including 7-4 in that period, for Finland. Last three minutes of the second period were the best of the game so far for the Swiss. No great chances, but they finally established some puck possession in the Finland zone.

Third Period

2:15 p.m.: We're back again.

17:36 left: Conz is legit. He just stopped Julius Junttila on a breakaway, keeping it 2-0.

15:34 left: Finland back to the power play as Loeffel goes off for slashing.

15:23 left: That didn't take long. It's 3-0 Finland after a perfect cross-ice pass from Erik Haula to Vatanen. Conz had no chance on that one-timer.

12:09 left: Finland is opening it up now. Junttila makes it 4-0 with a beautiful rush down the right side past Swiss defenseman Nicholas Steiner. Junttila finishes the play, flipping a shot top shelf over Conz's glove.

10:34 left: It's just not meant to be for the Swiss. Gregory Hofmann has his stick tied up in front staring at an empty net and it remains 4-0. Shots are 32-12.

6:42 left: Another break. I'd say the building's a third full, but that may be kind. Somewhere between a fourth and a third probably.

3:57 left: Getting a head start on this game story, since Canada-Czech Republic is less than 90 minutes away. If something earth-shattering happens here, we'll be sure to share.

2:03 left: Ho-hum, Conz stops another breakaway. Toni Rajala took a hooking penalty for Finland, so we'll see if the Swiss can break up Ortio's shutout.

Final: Nope, they can't. 4-0 Finland. Shutout for Ortio, who made all 15 saves. Finland had 38 shots. Dominant performance by the Finns. Back with Canada-Czech Republic in a bit. Off for quotes now.

--------------

Hello from HSBC Arena, where Switzerland and Finland open the third day of play in the World Juniors.

I've survived the walk from The News' Scott Street parking lot to HSBC. If there's a colder 10 minute-walk out there, I don't want to feel it. Very little traffic outside the arena, even less inside. If you take the red-clad Canada fans out of the crowd, I'm not sure there would be 500 people here.

We'll see how it looks closer to the faceoff. The Swiss come into the game leading Group A with three points, courtesy of its 4-3 win over Germany on Sunday. Finland, of course, took the U.S. to overtime on Sunday before losing, 3-2. The Finns have one point.

Stay with us all afternoon for live updates from this game and the 4 p.m. game between Canada and the Czech Republic.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski 

Team USA will play its second game of the world juniors short-handed, with forwards Brock Nelson (upper body) and Jeremy Morin (shoulder) scheduled to miss tonight's game against Slovakia with injuries.

"We’re not focusing too much on them," defenseman Justin Faulk said. "I think we’ll come out and be ready to play tonight."

What had HSBC Arena all atwitter, however, was a comment by Emerson Etem on his Twitter page. Here is the post, which has since been taken down.

Etem stood tall during a barrage of questions about Buffalo and his comments.

"I think it’s a great host city, and I’m definitely happy to be here," Etem said after the morning skate. "I think it was interpreted in many different ways. My point to get across was not to put down a great host city like this. I know a lot of people put in time and effort to make this thing possible. For me, it’s the middle of winter. People aren’t out. It’s really cold outside. Like I said, the point for me was not to put down Buffalo.

"It’s a poorly written Tweet by me. I meant bad conditions. I came from Medicine Hat, from a Midwestern city, it was warm out, then I come here and not a lot of people are out, like I said. It’s expected. It’s the middle of winter. I was here three, four years ago. I won a national championship here, and that was in springtime. That was an energetic city. I know what it’s like to be here when everyone is out and about. That was the point.

"It’s a great, historic town for sports, and I realize that. Like I said, it’s a poorly written Tweet by me, and I’m sorry for the confusion. I just kind of want to move on."

The complete audio of Etem's chat, including apologies to Buffalo and Medicine Hat, is below.

---John Vogl

Overtime:

3:17: Slovakia slapper from the point trickles out but Juraj Majdan unable to stash it away.

3:02: Penalty, Germany. Tripping. We'll have some high-flying 4-on-3 action now. Germans call a timeout. Slovakia will get some good looks here.

1:21: GOAL SLOVAKIA --- Marek Hrivik. 2-1 Slovaks

Third Period:

19:20: Slovakia gets an early power play opportunity. Tripping. Big chance.

17:30: Nothing doing. Germany closes off passing lanes and silences a few scoring opportunities to burn the penalty.

12:16: Still tied at one. Neither team doing much, playing it very safe. Nobody wants to give up a breakaway.

7:42: Germany's shot count is at 41. But it's still 1-1.

5:59: Wow, what a save by Riecicky. A one-time tap to Marcel Ohmann in front of the net fails as the goalie pokes it away.

1:28: Germany's Grubauer makes a pair of saves in heavy traffic. Looks like we're inching toward OT.

0:00: Off to overtime we go...

Second Period

19:52: Bang. Slovakia scores eight seconds in. Richard Panik beats Grubauer with a lefty wrister from the right side. Arena roars. Slovakia, 1-0.

17:50: Germany goes on the PP with a chance at the equalizer.

16:00: Germans generate no offense with man advantage. Still look a little woozy after Panik's goal. Despite dominating the game, Germany trails.

12:30: Slovakia whistled for too many men on the ice --- really trying to let Germany back into the game.

10:30: No dice. Twenty-one saves for Riecicky. Germany simply cannot solve him so far.

7:59: Another power play coming for Germany. Slovakia's Marek Hrivik trucks to the box. And apparently, everyone all over the world loves the kiss cam. Slovak fans here eat it up.

6:10: Shortie opp for Slovakia. Andrej Stastny (no relation to NHL's) breaks loose but can't score.

4:00: Slovakia's Andrej Kudrna threads through the Germany defense on the PP, gets to the goalie unconested, but Grubauer makes a tremendous blocker save. Huge stop there.

3:14: And, finally, Germany breaks through. Norman Hauner picks up the trash in front of the net and scores. All tied up, 1-1.

0:00: That's it for the second. Germany continues to control the game but it's 1-1.

First Period

17:30: And we're off. Germany had a great scoring chance early when Tobias Rieder nearly jammed home a wraparound inside the right post. Slovakia's Dominik Riecicky shut the door quickly for the save.

15:00: Tough point-blank save by Riecicky. Germany's Marcel Noebels rips a shot from the slot but is stoned. Still scoreless.

13:20: Hard to tell that the Germans were the team that played yesterday, not Slovakia, so far. Germany has seven shots on goal already and most of them have been uncontested. Another wraparound save by Riecicky there.

11:52 Tripping penalty on Slovakia's Peter Sisovsky gives Germany the first PP. Forty ticks left on it. Two more saves by Riecicky -- a golden-glove worthy snag than a kick save.

10:00: Penalty killed. Slovakia lucky it's 0-0.

7:22: Dominik Riecicky already with 13 saves for Slovakia. Germany is absolutely peppering the goalie. You'd think they'd break through eventually.

2:10: Slovakia goes on the PP after its star Richard Panik is flattened in front of the net.

0:55: Here we go. Germany's Tom Kuhnhackyl is ripped down from behind on a shortie breakaway and gets a penalty shot....

0:55: SAVE. Right blocker stop keeps it at zip-zip.

0:00: So after the first period of play, we're scoreless at HSBC. The reason? Riecicky. Slovakia's netminder has 16 saves, none of which have been gimmies.

----

As fans trickle into HSBC Arena, we're about 30 minutes from the puck dropping here at another World Junior matchup. Germany and Slovakia will square off in what should be an interesting game. Neither team is considered a major threat to take gold. Expectations are modest. Combined, the two countries have one medal in the event.

But Germany sure gave favored Switzerland a scare Sunday. Any gas left in the tank for this one? Going to be tough. Slovakia, in its first game of the tourney, will be fresh.

Keep it here for live updates all game. And skip over to colleague Amy Moritz's live blog for updates on Czech/Norway.

---Tyler Dunne

The Czech Republic will open its tournament in about an hour at Dwyer Arena on the Niagara University campus when it faces Noway.

In last year's World Juniors, the Czechs went 1-3 in the preliminary rounds before winning all three games in the relegation round to take seventh place.

For some pregame video insights, check out the preview on the IIHF site, which also includes a video story on Jiri Fisher -- an assistant coach for the Czech team and current director of player personnel for the Detroit Red Wings (see an article in the Detroit Free Press for more on Fisher).

Norway, meanwhile, will try to rebound from Monday's 7-1 opening loss to Norway.

Check back for updates throughout the game.

Final

Czech Republic 2, Norway 0

Marek Mazanec recorded the shutout while Honejsek had two points on the evening.

Third period

8:30: Puck drop!

15:03 left: Honejsek skates down the ice with the puck and scores a short-handed goal to give the Czechs a 2-0 lead.

Second period

7:52 p.m.: Puck drop!

8:58 left: The Czechs are dominating play but after back-to-back power plays the game is still scoreless.

6:50 left: The persistence pays off as Antonin Honejsek won a faceoff and fed Tomas Rachunek who scored for the 1-0 Czech lead.

End of the second period: Czech Republic 1, Norway 0

First period

7:08: Puck drop. Game on!

10:10 left: Both teams are 0-for-1 on the power play. While there have been some chances it's pretty much been a neutral-zone game with a subdued crowd at Dwyer.

End of the first period: 0-0. It was a rather evenly-played opening 20 minutes. Both teams had some good scoring chances. The Czechs held a 7-6 advantage in shots in an otherwise uneventful period of play.

Pregame

Starting lineups just made the press rounds and Norway changed up their goaltender, going with Steffen Kent Soberg. Not surprising in back-to-back games. Nor for the fact that last night's starter, Las Volden, gave up seven goals while making 39 saves.

--- Amy Moritz

Here is audio of Team USA coach Keith Allain and forward Ryan Bourque following Monday's practice:

Allain:

Download the audio and take it with you.

Bourque:

Download the audio and take it with you.

Following Canada's practice today, coach Dave Cameron and Sabres prospect Zack Kassian addressed the media. Team Canada faces the Czech Republic at 4 p.m. Tuesday in HSBC Arena.

Cameron:

Download the audio and take it with you

Kassian:

Download the audio and take it with you

--Miguel Rodriguez