US beats Slovakia in world junior opener

VICTORIA, British Columbia

Mikey Anderson and Evan Barratt scored early in the third period and the United States rallied to beat Slovakia 2-1 on Wednesday night to open the World Junior Championship.

Kyle Keyser made 13 saves for the Americans, allowing only Marek Korencik’s goal late in the second period at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Keyser stopped Andrej Kukuca on a penalty shot with 6:45 left to preserve the lead.

Slovakia’s Samuel Hlavaj also stopped a penalty shot, thwarting Jason Robertson in the second period, and finished with 32 saves.

The Americans will face Kazakhstan on Friday night, play Sweden on Saturday night and complete round-robin play against Finland on Monday night.

Staff/wire report