USA-Switzerland this afternoon in the World Juniors

The U.S. junior national team, which won Group A and is the second overall seed among the eight teams in the playoff round, will face Switzerland today in the quarters with the opening match at 2:30 p.m. The game can be seen live on the NHL Network.

The USA cruises to a 4-1 win over host Canada on New Year’s Eve before a sellout crowd of nearly 19,000 at the Canadian Tire Centre. Team USA used three power play goals and 38 saves from Trey Augustine to secure the win.

Switzerland, who finished fourth in Group B, had one win in their opening four rounds. Its victory came on Tuesday (December 31) in the form of a 3-1 decision over Kazakhstan.

The USA and Switzerland have met 26 previous times at the World Juniors, and Team USA has never lost with 24 wins and two ties. The teams have battled only once in the quarterfinals previously, a 3-2 American triumph on Jan. 2, 2017, at the Air Canada Center in Toronto. Jordan Greenway scored the game winner in the third period.

Cole Hutson is tied for the tournament lead in points entering play today with eight (2G, 6A) and leads the World Juniors with six assists. James Hagens (2G, 4A) and Cole Eiserman (2G, 4A) are tied for sixth with six each.

Team USA is looking to advance to the semifinals of the World Juniors for the eighth time in the last 10 years.