Nelson, United States top Latvia to improve to 2-0
New York Islanders prospect Danny Nelson scored two goals as the United States beat Latvia 5-1 Saturday for its second win of the World Junior Championship.
American captain Ryan Leonard, Zeev Buium, and Max Plante added their first goals of the tournament in the win. James Hagens, a contender to go first overall in next summer's NHL draft, collected a pair of assists.
The United States moves into first place in Group A with six points after two games for each team. The top four nations advance to the quarterfinals, while the last-placed squad goes to the relegation round.
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States ๐บ๐ธ | 6 |
| 2 | Canada ๐จ๐ฆ | 4 |
| 3 | Finland ๐ซ๐ฎ | 3 |
| 4 | Latvia ๐ฑ๐ป | 2 |
| 5 | Germany ๐ฉ๐ช | 0 |
Latvia upset Canada 3-2 in a shootout Friday. The win was Latvia's first against Canada at the world juniors and its third-ever victory in the preliminary round.
Goaltender Linards Feldbergs made 36 saves for Latvia against the United States. He stopped 55 of 57 shots and was a perfect 8-for-8 in the shootout versus Canada less than 24 hours earlier. Feldbergs' 91 saves lead the tournament.
Davids Livsics netted Latvia's lone goal.
Hampton Slukynsky made 25 saves for the U.S. in his world junior debut.
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