The relegation game has determined who will stay in the top division and who will be relegated to Division 1A. Germany defeated Norway in overtime to secure their stay in the top division of the 2025 World Junior Championship. Germany will join Canada and Latvia in Group A in next year’s tournament. The 2025 tournament will mark Germany’s sixth consecutive appearance in the top division, a feat they haven’t met since their seven-tournament run from 1992 to 1998.
Norway will join Austria, Denmark, France, Hungary, and Slovenia at the Division 1A WJC next December. It is expected that Norway will regain a spot in the top division for the 2026 tournament. Out of the 2024 Division 1A WJC, Kazakhstan recently won the tournament and earned a promotion to the top division.
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The first two periods went in Norway’s favor as they looked like the better team. One of Germany’s three NHL prospects, Kevin Bicker, found a rebound to gain Germany’s early lead. Norway wasn’t going to leave the first period without having something to show for themselves. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard got a shot on German goaltender Mattias Bittner who couldn’t gain control of the puck. Bittner’s mishandlings led to Noah Steen jumping on the loose puck and scoring on a nice wraparound.
When the second period began, both teams started off slow, but Germany found their legs and regained the lead at the nine-minute mark. Veit Oswald who returned after a one-game suspension, used his strength to overpower Norwegian defenders and put Germany up 2-1. Norway’s depth players Mats Bakke Olsen and Martin Johnsen found chemistry just past the halfway mark of the second period. Johnsen fed Bakke Olsen with a nice pass to tie the game back at two goals. This goal gave Norway some much-needed momentum, but nothing materialized as Germany’s defense easily matched Norway’s offense.
The third period was an even slower start for Norway. Unable to record a shot on goal in the first 10 minutes of play, Germany took advantage of this. Norway was beginning to come alive in the third period as they started to have successful offensive zone entries, but Germany kept them at bay. Norwegian defender Stian Solberg was looking to lead Norway with a breakout pass that instead became a turnover and left Gabriel Koch to defend a 3-on-1. When the Norwegian group got back into the defensive zone, Phillip Sinn ripped a shot from the point which barely trickled past Markus Stensrud. Just 48 seconds later, Solberg turned the puck over yet again to Niklas Hubner who scored to put Germany up 4-2.
Related: 2024 Guide to the World Junior Championship
A rare faceoff violation was called against Germany, allowing Norway to claw back into the game. Brandsegg-Nygard scored a one-touch goal after Steen’s pass to make it 4-3. Just a minute after Brandsegg-Nygard’s goal, Bakke Olsen scored his second of the game which forced the game to overtime. In overtime, Steen and Brandsegg-Nygard had the opportunity to extend their stay in the top division but Brandsegg-Nygard couldn’t get his stick on the puck. Germany’s defender Sinn got the puck to Moritz Elias and without fail, he scored just 58 seconds into overtime and kept Germany in the top division.
Norway Dominated the First 40 Minutes, Bad Plays Led to Their Downfall
Throughout the first two periods, Norway outshot Germany 23-14. They dominated puck possession in all three zones and kept Germany fighting to secure the perimeter. Norway continuously moved the puck and identified passing lanes, but they couldn’t find the back of the net. With each minute that passed, they remained dominant, but they had two massive flaws in their game which allowed Germany to score twice.
Germany took advantage of Norway’s bad positioning and poor passing in the defensive zone which led to three of their goals. Two of these goals from turnovers due to poor passing came from Solberg who gave up the puck right in front of Stensrud. He attempted to cut through the slot with a pass to give Norway a 3-on-1 scoring chance which ultimately led to these costly errors. He tried this multiple times throughout the entire game and Germany’s Julian Lutz was able to successfully break up Solberg’s last attempt at this play.
Germany Stays in Top Division, Norway Relegated to Division 1A
Norway fought to the last chance they had in this game. Germany just overwhelmed them late in the third period and early in overtime. Stensrud’s weak glove side and Norway’s defense being unable to cover the slot were exposed in this game. Norway ultimately lost and failed to meet their goal of avoiding relegation while Germany fell far below their expectations of finishing in the final four.
Germany has secured their spot in the top division at the 2025 WJC in Ottawa while Norway has been relegated to Division 1A. Norway will mark their calendars as they work to be promoted back to the top division for the 2026 WJC in Minnesota.
