WJC: US, Sweden Off To Good Starts

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The World Junior Championships are underway as Panther prospects AJ Jenks (USA) and Jacob Markstrom (Sweden) are looking to earn gold for their country.

Day 2: 12/27
Day two was more of the same for Sweden and the USA. Jenks found the back of the net for the first time of the Junior tournament as the US defeated Switzerland 3-0 while Sweden didn't even need Markstrom between the pipes on their way to a 7-3 victory over Austria.

The Americans were actually in for a scare against the Swiss, not scoring their second goal until the 12:35 mark of the third period while Jenks tally gave the US the final scoring with 3:24 left to play in the game. Jenks finished with the goal on three shots and was a plus-one.

Day 1: 12/26
It was a great opening day for both Sweden and the United States as both teams had dominating final scores. Sweden posted a 10-1 victory over the Czech Republic while the US earned a pulled away from Slovakia 7-3. Markstrom turned a way 20 shots for his first victory of the tournament while Jenks finished with a shot on goal, a plus-one and a cross-checking penalty in the second period while centering the third line.

"It's always good to win the first game, and we won it big," Markstrom told iihf.com. "It's a good game we played, but I think we can play a lot better on defense and execute better on the power play. We have more to give. Still, a good start for sure."

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Panthers 4th pick (100th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
	GP Goals Assists Points Shots +/- PIM Face-offs 2  1 0 1 4 +2 2 24 of 34
Panthers 1st pick (31st overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
	GP Saves  Goals Allowed Save % GAA Record 1  20  1  .952  1.00   1-0-0

GROUP A   GROUP B Rank Team GP W OTW OTL  L PTS GDF GF GA   Rank Team GP W OTW OTL  L PTS GDF GF GA 1 USA 2 2 0 0 0 6 7 10 3   1 SWE 2 2 0 0 0 6 13 17 4 2 CAN 1 1 0 0 0 3 16 16 0   2 RUS 1 1 0 0 1 3 4 6 2 3 SVK 2 1 0 0 1 3 1 11 10   3 FIN 1 1 0 0 2 3 1 4 3 4 SUI 1 0 0 0 1 0 -3  0  3   4 AUT 2 0 0 0 2 0 -8 5 13 5 LAT 2 0 0 0 2 0 -21  3  24   5 CZE 2 0 0 0 2 0 -10 4 14