Holiday sports catch-up: World juniors, football and more

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Whether you're back to work today or still enjoying some time off, let's get you up to speed on what's been happening since our last newsletter on Dec. 20.

Hockey: The world juniors are heating up

After opening with a 4-0 shutout of Finland on Boxing Day, Canada suffered a shocking 3-2 shootout loss to Latvia — a country it beat 10-0 last year. The Canadians rebounded to blank Germany 3-0 last night, setting the stage for another New Year's Eve showdown with the rival United States.

Both teams have already secured spots in the quarterfinals. But the Americans' overtime loss to Finland last night left them and Canada with identical records, so the winner of tomorrow night's game in Ottawa will finish atop Group A and get to play the fourth-place team in Group B.

With its power play running cold, Canada ranks fourth in the tournament in goals with just nine in three games. The U.S. has twice that many, while the Group B-leading Czech Republic (23) and Sweden (20) are scoring at an even higher rate.

Canada's top point-getter, Easton Cowan, sits outside the top 25 with a modest one goal and two assists so far. Seventeen-year-old star Gavin McKenna, touted as the top prospect for the 2026 NHL draft, hasn't recorded a point since scoring Canada's first goal of the tournament. And star defenceman Matthew Schaefer, who could go No. 1 this June, is gone after breaking his collarbone when he crashed into the net against Latvia.

On the bright side, the Canadians have allowed a tournament-low three goals and top netminder Carter George has been lights out, stopping all 56 shots he