World Junior Hockey Championships

Just over a week away from the 2012 IIHF U20 Championships, the 36th edition of the tournament.

This may come as a shock to anyone who follows this tournament, but yes, it is being held in Canada again. This time in the frozen tundras of Calgary and Edmonton. The medal round, which starts January 2 and ends with the gold medal game on January 5, all takes place in Calgary.

2011 Recap

Canada scored 28 goals in the round robin part of the tournament, which included a 6-5 OT loss to Sweden. They hit double digits against the mighty Norwegians.

They missed out on the bye directly into the semi-final, but got rid of Switzerland 4-1 in the QF. The heavily hyped match up against the United States in the semi-final ended with another 4-1 Canada win.

Russia only finished third in the round robin group, with losses to Canada and Sweden. They never made it easy on themselves in the playoffs. They fell behind 3-1 to Finland before winning 4-3 in OT. In the semi-final against Sweden, Russia took a 2-0 lead before needing a shootout to advance.

The final between Russia and Canada brought more of the same from the Russians. Canada ran out to a 3-0 lead before a Russian blitz in the third period. Five unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes saw Russia win their fourth title.

The US beat Sweden for the bronze medal.

2012 Groups

Group A - Calgary

Russia
Sweden
Switzerland
Slovakia
Latvia

Group B - Edmonton

Canada
United States
Finland
Czech Republic
Denmark

Tournament starts December 26. There are a few pre-tournament games this week.

Highlight of last year's tournament...

[video=World juniors hockey Russian anthem]5632[/video]

And then...

[video=Unruly Russians tossed from plane | Russian Hockey Teem Too Drunk to Fly]5631[/video]