After a historic 4-3 win over Team Finland on Dec. 27, Team Germany played host nation Team Sweden in their second game of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC) on Thursday, Dec. 28. Germany stayed in the game for most of it, but a dominant third period by Sweden gave the Germans a huge loss, as it ended 5-0.
Germany Lost in a Close Game
Coming off beating Finland for the first time at the WJC, there was a chance that Germany could come out slow in the second game in back-to-back days. However, with the help of netminder Matthias Bittner, Germany proved that yesterday was not a fluke despite the loss. Even after giving up 18 shots to Sweden compared to their six in the first period, there seemed to be a chance for Germany to get the equalizer.
Related: 2024 Guide to the World Junior Championship
Otto Stenberg scored the lone goal for Sweden in the first period to give the hosts a lead at the 15:28 mark. That should be a good sign for the Germans; holding off the Swedes for that long shows that they played strong defensively for the first 20 minutes of the game.
The second period seemed to be better for Germany, as they held Sweden to seven shots compared to their six, like in the first period. To be able to lessen Sweden’s chances seemed to give Germany more confidence as the game went on. Julian Lutz led the way in the shots department for Germany, getting six shots throughout the game. Coming into the 2024 WJC, it was clear that he was one of the players to watch. However, Sweden doubled their lead after a goal from Mattias Havelid, who ripped a slapshot in the top left corner of the net. It was almost the identical shot placement that Stenberg had in the previous period.
Related: Team Germany Players to Watch at 2024 WJC
Germany went into the second intermission only down by two and still had a shot to claw back into the game despite being outshot 25-12. But going into the final frame, it was all Sweden in the third period to put this game away.
Here Comes Otto Stenberg
The third period saw Stenberg just put on an absolute clinic as he scored two more goals for Team Sweden in the third period to complete his hat trick. He scored both of his goals less than three minutes apart. The game was 2-0, and within a blink of an eye, it was 4-0 for Sweden because of Stenberg. Germany got outshot in the third period, 16-3, in a dominant period for the host nation. Noah Ostlund joined the scoring parry, giving Sweden the 5-0 lead, which was the last goal of the game. Sweden ended up outshooting Germany 41-15 in the game.
Related: 3 Takeaways from Germany’s Upset Win Over Finland
Bittner could only do so much for Germany, as Sweden has been projected to finish second in this WJC, but he did manage to stop 36 of 41 shots that he faced. To only give up five goals to a team like Sweden is some silver lining compared to other games in the tournament so far. It was known that it would be a hard road for Germany in this 2024 WJC.
Chance to Make Out of Group Stage
Despite the loss, Germany is still in a good spot in Group A play after two games into the 2024 WJC. Their upset win over Finland has them in third place in the group ahead of the Finns and Team Latvia, and have a minus-4 goal differential after both of their games.
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The first four teams in each group move onto the quarter-final stage. That means if Germany can beat Latvia, they have a chance to get out of the group stage and possibly finish better or at least tie their eighth-place finish from the 2023 WJC.
Entering the 2024 WJC, not a lot of experts thought Germany would place well in the tournament. However, they are in a good place to do so, even if their group includes Canada, Sweden, and Finland. Advancing out of the group is huge for Germany, as they’re looking to build up their stock in international tournaments. It will be interesting if Germany goes back to Philipp Dietl, who secured the 4-3 win for Germany over Finland. If not, will they look at Bittner after trying to keep the Germans in the game against the Swedes? Only time will tell when the puck drop rolls around in a couple of days.
Their next game is Saturday, Dec. 30 versus Latvia at 1:30 p.m. eastern on NHL Network.
