The 2013 World Juniors Hockey Championships get off to a start on Wednesday with a matchup between Finland and Latvia in Group A.
Finland ended last year's tournament in 4th place. During their 2012 run they got off to a dreadful start with an 8-1 loss to Canada before rallying with three straight wins over the Czech Republic, Denmark, and the United States. The team wound up scoring 18 goals in those three matches and continued its solid play in the Quarterfinals with an 8-5 win over Slovakia. Unfortunately, they met the end of their run with a 3-2 loss to eventual champion Sweden before suffering a 4-0 loss to Canada in the bronze medal round.
This year's team features a ton of NHL prospects including Joel Armia, Teuvo Teravainen, Olli Maata, and Ville Pokka. This talented squad should be the favorites to win this match.
Their opponents on Wednesday will be a weak Latvia squad who will not have Zemgus Grigorens, a player who would have given the squad a major boost. Instead they will have to depend heavily on the talents of Roberts Lipsbergs and Nikita Jevpalovs. Last year the Latvians lost all four group matches by a combined score of 31-8. The low point of their tournament was a 14-0 embarrassment against Russia. They salvaged their berth in this year's top competition by defeating Denmark 2-1 in overtime.
To check out the full rosters, click HERE.
Prediction: Finland should have no difficulty in this match and should blow Latvia out substantially. 8-2 Finland.
Start Time: 2:30 AM EST