For International Hockey Coverage

The calm before (or after) the storm at the World Juniors involves all the non-medal teams playing one last game. What's the point of these games, you ask?

Last year, Nino Niederreiter wouldn't let Russia make the semifinals with his late game heroics for Switzerland. This year, Evgeny Kuznetsov decided Russia wouldn't be denied against Finland.

It's playoff time at the 2011 IIHF U20 WJHCs, with quarterfinal action going on today. Canada takes on Switzerland in the afternoon game, while Russia and Finland play in the evening.

The end of the preliminary rounds gave us a look at our playoff bracket for the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, and the bracket looks fantastic. We have the preview of the playoffs, and a breakdown of the quarterfinal matchups for Sunday.

It's the final day of preliminary round action at the IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo and Niagara. The Czechs and Russians battle for the final playoff spot in Group B, while Canada, Sweden, Finland, USA and Switzerland all have eyes for a semifinal berth.

While the preliminary round of the IIHF U20 WJHCs continues, the quarterfinals hit for the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. Stay here for all the game day action, including Finland vs. Germany and Canada vs. Norway at the WJHCs.

There are four IIHF U20 WJHC games on the dock today, including Switzerland vs. Finland, Canada vs the Czechs, Russia vs. Sweden and USA vs. Slovakia. Be sure to join the chat for these games, as well as the Canada/HC Davos Spengler Cup game.

Want a wide variety of perspective on the IIHF World Juniors? Here's some newsclips from around the hockey world on the first day of action.

It's Boxing Day, which means that another IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship is starting. Come here for a short preview of the day's action, and for a running commentary on the games, highlighted by Canada vs. Russia and USA vs. Finland.

Finland has remained a strong player at the U20 level, but have struggled to produce offensive players, preventing them from winning medals consistently. Finnish blogger Eetu Huisman joins Puck Worlds to share his thoughts on the country's current team, and player development in the country.