Michael Brandsegg-Nygard opened the scoring on day four of the 2024 World Junior Championship to secure Norway’s first lead of the tournament after a 4-1 loss to Team USA followed by an 8-1 loss to Team Czechia. Their 8-4 loss against Slovakia wasn’t the result they hoped for, but they certainly gave the Slovaks a fight.
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Entering this game, Norway certainly wasn’t favoured to win against the undefeated Slovak team, and their lead didn’t last long as Samuel Honzek and Juraj Pekarcik scored 27 seconds apart to begin Slovakia’s dominant scoring efforts. Norway’s biggest weakness was exposed in these two goals as they refused to cover the slot, which allowed Slovakia’s players to walk right in and score. This was an issue that followed them throughout the game.
Dalibor Dvorsky scored one of five goals in the second period for Slovakia, who were 3/3 on the power play in the second period and 4/5 in the contest. Norwegian goaltender Sebastian Aarsund found himself starting after Markus Rohnebaek Stensrud was pulled from the lineup after posting two losses in a row. After struggling early, Norway head coach Christer Nylund pulled Aarsund after allowing five goals on 15 shots. Martin Lundberg came in to relieve Aarsund and settle down the scoring onslaught from Slovakia.
The third period was eventful. Felix Granath was assessed a misconduct for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Petter Vesterheim recorded his second shorthanded goal of the tournament. Dvorsky also scored his second power-play goal of the game, which put Slovakia’s power-play unit to 5/7 in the tournament.
Brandsegg-Nygard recorded his second of the game late in the third for Norway’s fourth and final goal of the contest. Both Vesterheim and Brandsegg-Nygard scored their goals 35 seconds apart, which showcased Norway’s dynamic effort in the final ten minutes. They could have beaten Slovakia if they played this way for the entire game.
Slovakia Went 5/6 On High-Danger Scoring Chances In The Slot
Norway’s defensemen were often out of position, which led to their opponents getting too much time and space to choose their shots. Slovakia’s first goal came when Honzek skated easily through Norwegian penalty-killers to tie the game up 1-1 in the first period. Pekarcik did the same thing just 27 seconds later to gain the lead.
Dvorsky also scored both of his goals nearly the same way. He skated up the left side and came in freely through the slot to score. Servac Petrovsky scored his first goal of the game when he was able to freely skate through and find an open spot in the slot. Of five of Slovakia’s goals, four came right in front of the net. This led to a change in goal for Norway, but it was necessary to help stop the issue of defending the slot.
Related: 2024 Guide to the World Junior Championship
The issue wasn’t goaltending, it was the lack of responsibility coming from the defenders. Each of Norway’s defence pairings was the reason for the lack of support that Aarsund received. Once he was replaced by Lundberg, Nylund took a timeout to give his team time to regroup and tighten up defensively. This was reflected in their third-period play, as they limited Slovakia to one high-danger scoring chance from the slot and 10 shots.
Norway’s Defence Gave Slovakia’s Players Too Much Room The Entire Game
Norway played poor defence, plain and simple. There was not one thing they did that helped keep the Slovak scoring onslaught at bay. Norway’s penalty kill went 2/7, and they positioned themselves away from the slot rather than trying to prevent Slovakia from entering it.
Against the USA, Norway protected the slot and minimized the USA’s offensive threat. Norway came into this game with their guard down and expected to play the same way. It’s a critical reason why the Slovaks were able to pour on the offence.
Combine this with the room that the Slovaks had to pick and choose their shots. The Norwegians were not aggressive, and it looked like they just let the Slovaks get good shots on goal. Their lack of movement led to many high-danger chances against, and Aarsund was replaced in net. This is something that Norway will have to work on ahead of the next game if they want to avoid being relegated to the WJC Division 1A.
Norway and Slovakia’s Rough Third Period Gave The Game An Interesting Twist
The first two periods of the game didn’t compare to the third. Slovakia outshot Norway 25-13 in the first two periods, but Norway played a strong third, outshooting the Slovaks 13-10. Neither side played strong defence, Slovakia got sloppy and careless after they went up 7-1.
Norwegian defenseman Stian Solberg jumped up and joined Martin Johnsen and Sander Wold on a 3-on-0 opportunity and scored his first goal of the tournament, resulting in a scrum which saw a referee go to each bench to talk to the coaches. Moments later, Maxim Strbak received a minor penalty for elbowing after getting involved in another scrum. Kasper Magnussen received a double minor for roughing just a minute-and-a-half later, and Dvorsky scored the seventh Slovak goal of the game as a result of this penalty.
As tensions kept growing, Granath received a game misconduct for unsportsmanlike conduct after yet another scrum in front of the Slovak net. His drive and energy trickled down the lineup, and the Norwegian squad was not going to be pushed around. Vesterheim got another shorthanded break and Brandsegg-Nygard joined in on the 2-on-0 before Vesterheim buried the goal for his second shorthanded marker of the tournament. Just 33 seconds later, Brandsegg-Nygard scored a beautiful one-timer to get his second of the game from Vesterheim.
With the last-minute burst of offence from Norway and many scrums in the third period, the matchup between Slovakia and Norway was entertaining. Slovakia outshot Norway 35-26 to secure their 8-4 victory to improve to an undefeated 3-0. Norway remains winless, and they’ll have a chance to change that in their final preliminary matchup against Switzerland on Saturday, Dec. 30. Slovakia will face Team USA on Sunday, Dec. 31, to determine who finishes first in Group B.
