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2015 World Junior Championships Results – Day 5

Slovakia vs. Germany

So far in this year’s tournament Slovakia has been buoyed by the play of goaltender Denis Godla, but tonight, though he was strong between the pipes once again, it was Captain Martin Reway leading the charge. He finished the game with a hat trick, including an empty netter as the Slovaks beat Germany 5-2. After being down 3-0 in the first period, Germany was forced to play catch-up. Frederik Tiffels potted a goal late in the opening period to give his team some momentum heading into the intermission, but the Germans couldn’t take advantage of a pair of powerplays in the second to change the score. Reway’s goal 4:05 into the third made it 4-1, and though Tiffels would score again on a penalty shot, it was too little, too late. Slovakia now sits firmly in third place in Group A, while the Germans unbelievably have a chance to avoid the relegation round with a win over the disappointing Finns tomorrow in their final preliminary game.

Denmark vs. Switzerland

The darlings of the tournament so far, Denmark entered the game with two points in the standings, thanks to a pair of OT/Shootout losses. They had never won a game in the history of the World Junior tournament, but tonight they finally broke through, defeating the Swiss 4-3 in a shootout. Seeing the raw emotion of the Danish players and coaches after Georg Sorensen made the game winning stop is what this tournament is all about. Switzerland went up 2-0 in the first before Oliver Bjorkstrand scored to cut the lead in half. Denmarl scored on the powerplay midway through the second period to tie the game, but Timo Meier gave his team back the lead just 24 seconds later. Shortly after, the Danes went back to the powerplay, where Danish captain Mikkel Aagaard scored to tie the game. The third period was scoreless despite a pair of powerplays for each side, sending the game to overtime. The extra period solved nothing, and in the shootout Bjorkstrand and Nikolaj Ehlers scored to secure the victory. Sorensen was terrific again, stopping 42 Swiss shots. Denmark is now finished the preliminary round, but can secure a Quarterfinal berth with some help tomorrow. If Group B-leading Sweden can beat the Swiss in regulation and Russia can defeat the Czechs in regulation or overtime Denmark will move on. Bjorkstrand’s goal gives him five points, good for a tie for second in tournament scoring.