Slovakia will attempt to secure a spot in next year's World Juniors as they take on Latvia in the first of two relegation round matches.
Since results from the group stage translate to the relegation round, Slovakia already has two points thanks to an overtime win over Germany. With a regulation win over Latvia they will obtain five points and clinch at least second place in the group. They face off against Finland on Friday in the final match of the round and for the top spot in the group. In their last match Slovakia needed a huge win over the United States to progress to the knockout rounds. However, after stellar performances against Russia (which they pushed to overtime) and some signs of aggression in a 6-3 loss to Canada, the Slovakians were shutdown by Germany in a 2-1 overtime win. The match foreshadowed what turned out to be a dreadful match against the Americans. After Slovakian Matus Matis tied an early American goal, the Eastern Europeans gave up four straight goals. Slovakia's Richard Mraz stopped the bleeding with a goal late in the first, but the United States reeled off another three goals in the second. Matis scored a final goal in the third, but it was not enough to get the team back in the game.
Latvia will be their opponent on Thursday and faces an uphill battle to remain in the division next season. Their loss to Finland carries over to this round and has kept them in last place in the relegation group.
Prediction: Slovakia should defeat Latvia with relative ease. 6-0 Slovakia.
Start Time: 6 AM EST
TV Info: TSN