The Section III boys ice hockey season gets rolling this week.

Here’s a look at the players and teams to watch in Division I.

Teams in Division I (2021 records in parenthesis): Baldwinsville (7-4-1), Cazenovia (3-2), Cicero-North Syracuse (2-8), Fayetteville-Manlius (2-3), Fulton (4-7-1), Liverpool (0-12), Notre Dame (0-0), Ontario Bay (0-6), Rome Free Academy (3-3), Syracuse (8-3), Watertown IHC (1-0), West Genesee (8-2-2

Players to watch

West Genesee forward Jeremy Keyes: A returning member of the 2021 All-CNY team, Keyes led the Wildcats with 26 points last season.

West Genesee forward Ryan Stratton: He notched five goals and seven assists last season as a sophomore.

West Genesee forward William Schneid: Only Keyes had more goals on the team last winter. Schneid boosted the Wildcats’ offense with nine goals.

Rome Free Academy forward Jake Premo: He’s a two-year varsity player with experience maneuvering the Knights’ offense.

Utica Notre Dame defense Cole Naroli: Naroli will captain the Jugglers in their first season under a new name. Formerly Mohawk Valley, they did not play last season.

Baldwinsville forward Matt Carner: Carner notched six assists and one goal for the Bees last season as a junior.

Baldwinsville goalie Jon Schirmer: He stopped 43 shots in Baldwinsville’s tie with Skaneateles and allowed just seven goals in five appearances.

Syracuse defense Tommy Rioux: Rioux will lead a tough Cougars defense that won eight games last winter.

Syracuse forward Brady Hubbard: Hubbard provides the Cougars with young skill depth. He tallied three points last season as a freshman.

Syracuse forward Jameson Bucktooth: Another former standout underclassmen, Bucktooth led the team with six goals last year as a sophomore.

Teams to watch

West Genesee: Likely the team to beat in Division I, the Wildcats scored the most points (52) in the division last season.

Syracuse: What the Cougars lost to graduation and transfers, they’ll look to make up for with returning young talent. Syracuse scored 50 goals in 11 games last winter.

Baldwinsville: The Bees tied Skaneateles, the best team in Section III, at the end of last season. Baldwinsville lost two of its games by only one goal in 2021.

Key games

Skaneateles at West Genesee, Nov. 23: The best team in the section against one of the best in Division I. This early-season matchup will be a good test for both teams.

Syracuse at Baldwinsville, Feb. 8: Playoff implications will be at stake when two of the top teams in the division play in one of the last games of the regular season.

Hockey Canada, IIHF unveil full tournament schedule; Canadian holiday hockey tradition kicks off on Boxing Day

After a unique IIHF World Junior Championship that started on Christmas Day in 2021, the 2022 edition of the World Juniors will get underway on Boxing Day, with four games highlighting the opening-day schedule.

Hockey Canada and the host committee, on behalf of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), unveiled the full tournament schedule on Thursday. Thirty-one games will be played at Rogers Place in Edmonton and the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer from Dec. 26, 2021 to Jan. 5, 2022.

“The World Juniors is a marquee event for Canadian hockey fans, and the unveiling of the schedule is a sign of how close the event is to getting underway in Edmonton and Red Deer this holiday season,” said Riley Wiwchar, executive director of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. “We look forward to bringing the World Juniors to both communities while showcasing some of the best international hockey to fans, both locally in these two communities, as well as across the country and around the world.”

The 10-team tournament features Canada in Group A with Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland and Germany in Edmonton, while Group B is comprised of Russia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States in Red Deer.

In addition to Canada’s New Year’s Eve match-up against Finland, it will also play the Czech Republic on Boxing Day, as well as Austria on Dec. 28 and Germany on Dec. 29. All Team Canada games will be played at 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET.

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will carry extensive game coverage and analysis throughout the World Juniors. TSN will broadcast all 31 tournament games and five pre-tournament games, while RDS will broadcast all 31 tournament games and three pre-tournament games. TSN Radio will also provide comprehensive coverage and will announce its broadcast schedule at a later date.

The 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be played under an Exemption for Amateur Sport Hosting regarding vaccination and COVID-19 protocols while allowing fully-vaccinated ticket holders to attend in both communities.

Overall, Canada has captured 18 gold medals (1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2018, 2020), 12 silver (1975, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2021) and six bronze (1974, 1978, 1983, 2000, 2001, 2012) at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

For more information from the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit the official tournament website at 2022.worldjuniors.hockey.

For more information on Hockey Canada, Canada’s National Junior Team and the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #WorldJuniors.

After much uncertainty, the puck is set to drop on the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship — and all eyes will be on Canada.

Serving as the host country, the Canadians are aiming for back-to-back titles for the first time since the country won four straight from 2005 to 2009. The one difference this year: They won’t have the backing of the hometown crowd in person as fans will not be allowed into Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta.

Canadian viewers can find a live stream for games online at TSN.ca or through the TSN app and TSN Direct.

Here’s everything to know about the tournament, including how to watch World Juniors live games in Canada, and a complete schedule with updated scores and standings.

How to watch World Juniors 2022 games in Canada live online

All of World Juniors 2022 games will be played at Edmonton’s Rogers Place. TSN owns exclusive broadcast rights for the World Junior Championship in Canada and will show every game live during the tournament across its various television channels. Canadian viewers can find a live stream for games online at TSN.ca or through the TSN app and TSN Direct. 

World Juniors Seedings

Group A (Red Deer)	Group B (Edmonton)
United States (1) Russia (4) Sweden (5) Slovakia (8) Switzerland (9)	Canada (2) Finland (3) Germany (6) Czech Republic (7) Austria (10)

The 2021 World Juniors are over but the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will return to Alberta.

Since the 2021 edition couldn’t be played in front of fans in Edmonton and Red Deer as initially planned but in a bubble without spectators in Edmonton due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be played in Edmonton and Red Deer instead with the expectation that the situation at that time will allow to hold it with spectators.

The original announcement was made on 17 September 2020 following the approval by the IIHF Council.

It will be the 15th World Juniors to be hosted in Canada and will take place at the recently constructed Rogers Place, the home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and at the ENMAX Centrium, home of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels.

With the gold medal game of the 2021 World Juniors over, the tentative groups of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship have become known.

Host Canada will play Finland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria in Edmonton. The group in Red Deer includes defending champion USA, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia and Switzerland.

The tournament will be played from 26 December 2021 to 5 January 2022. Following a six-day preliminary round until New Year’s Eve the event will continue with the quarter-finals, semi-finals, medal games and relegation games.

Fans who have purchased ticket packages for 2021 and didn’t request a refund will be able to retain the tickets for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship at no additional cost.

Fans who wish to be informed by Hockey Canada for future ticket opportunities for the 2022 World Juniors can sign up for the Fan List.

The game schedule for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be announced at a later date.

Following the next edition, the IIHF World Junior Championship will return to Europe in Novosibirsk, Russia in 2023 and in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2024.

Tentative Groups

Group A (in Red Deer)	Group B (in Edmonton)
USA (1)	Canada (2)
Russia (4)	Finland (3)
Sweden (5)	Germany (6)
Slovakia (8)	Czech Republic (7)
Switzerland (9)	Austria (10)

Confidence carried the day for Team USA at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Before their gold-medal victory against Team Canada Tuesday night in Edmonton, American forward Trevor Zegras said that goaltender Devon Levi hadn’t really been tested in the tournament.

“It was honest. There’s nothing wrong with being honest,” USA head coach Nate Leaman said of Zegras. “He scored points against every team we played.”

Perhaps Zegras was right.

Canada cruised through a group stage that was far weaker in depth than their American counterparts. Levi, who made 19 saves in Canada’s 2-0 loss, hadn’t faced an attack like American brought on Tuesday.

“We grinded them down low pretty much the whole game,” Zegras said. “I don’t think they had a team do that to them the whole tournament. We wanted to beat’em up down low, move it up high and get to the net and we did a good job of that.”

American goalie Spencer Knight made 34 saves for a shutout and Zegras had a goal and an assist.

Alex Turcotte scored the other goal for the United States, who have defeated the Canadians in the four consecutive World Junior finals they have faced each other (2004, 2010, 2017, 2021).

Canada had their undefeated record snapped in the tournament’s final game.

“It was the first team that really pushed back against us in the first period,” Canada head coach Andre Tourigny said. “We weren’t used to it and took quite a bit of time to get back at it.”

Team USA had a strong shift that led to the game’s opening goal. Their top line entered Canada’s zone and sustained pressure in the area for 52 seconds before Turcotte deflected a shot from the point by Drew Helleson and into the net. Zegras picked up the second assist at 13:25.

“That was the biggest goal I scored in my life,” Turcotte said. “It was everything I had hoped it would be.”

Despite jumping out to a 7-2 shots advantage to start the game, Canada trailed USA in that department 13-9 after 20 minutes.

The Americans added to their lead with a strong start to the second period. Arthur Kaliyev stripped a clearing attempt out of Canada’s zone from Dylan Cozens. He took the puck and shot it towards the back of the net. Levi went in the wrong direction while trying to track the puck on an odd bounce. Zegras picked it up and put it into a partially empty-net for a 2-0 lead at 0:32.

The Americans provided sustained pressure against the Canadians they had not experienced throughout the tournament. From the end of the first period to midway through the second period, one stretch of play saw the Americans outshoot Canada 15-3.

After Canada’s Jakob Pelletier received a penalty for hooking at 10:03 of the middle frame, the team found a spark and generated many chances. The best opportunity came while shorthanded when Bowen Byram had beat Knight in close but hit the post.

Canada applied pressure in the third period, but Knight and the Americans held steady.

Zegras’ two-point night gave him 18 points to lead the tournament (seven goals, 11 assists) and he was named tournament MVP.

Turcotte’s goal in the first period represented the first time that Canada trailed in the tournament.

“I’m proud of our guys,” Tourigny said. “We had 10-12 minutes where we went out of our style of game. We did a lot of good things but Spencer Knight was good and they were committed defensively.”