Team USA squared off with Team Slovakia on Sunday morning to determine the winner of Group B in the 2024 World Junior Championship’s preliminary round. Both teams entered the final group game undefeated but the US still proved to be far too much for Slovakia to handle, waltzing to a blowout 10-2 win.
Washington Capitals prospect Ryan Leonard continued his impressive play, scoring the United States’ fourth goal of the game. The tally was Leonard’s second in the tournament and kept him a point-per-game player with four points (2g, 2a) from four games.
A dart from Ryan Leonard! 🎯🎯🎯@usahockey | @BC_MHockey | @Capitals | #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/hKWd2z6Wvy
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) December 31, 2023
Leonard kicked the play off by doing the dirty work behind Slovakia’s net to claim a loose puck. He then circled around the cage and fed Buium at the point who made a slick move around a defender and found Smith in traffic.
Smith then sent a perfectly-timed pass to Leonard who had beat his man to the inside as he charged hard down the slot. Leonard, with his signature, hard wrist shot, made zero mistake with the golden opportunity and sniped over the glove hand of the Slovak netminder.
The goal came 8:20 into the second period and put Team USA up 4-2. Boston College linemate Will Smith and defenseman Zeev Buium earned the assists.
Leonard ended up skating 16:20 of ice time in the contest. He was joined on the scoresheet by fellow Capitals prospect Ryan Chesley. Chesley, who skated 18:27 in the win, notched two assists and was a +4 in the win. Chesley now has three points (1g, 2a) in four games after scoring his first WJC goal with a one-time blast in Friday’s win over Czechia.
The two prospects will get their next chance to add to their point tallies when the US comes up against Latvia in the tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday. Latvia survived Group A as the last qualifier for the playoff rounds after a clutch 6-2 victory over Germany on Saturday.
Screenshot via @NHLNetwork/X
