The 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships will continue on Monday in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The United States faces Slovakia in a preliminary game on Monday, Dec. 29.
The United States’ games in the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships will air on the NHL Network and can be streamed live on DirecTV Stream (free trial), fuboTV and other live TV streaming services.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: The 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships
Who: USA vs. Slovakia
When: 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025
Where: Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul, Minneapolis
TV: NHL Network
Tickets: Starting at $32.75
Full U.S. schedule
Friday, Dec. 26: U.S. 6, Germany 3
Saturday, Dec. 27: U.S. 2, Switzerland 1
Monday, Dec. 29: U.S. vs. Slovakia, 6 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Dec. 31: U.S. vs. Sweden, 6 p.m. ET
Here’s a recap from Saturday’s game from the Star Tribune via the Tribune News Service:
Brodie Ziemer is a natural captain for the United States at the World Junior Championships in his home state.
He isn’t much of a vocal leader, said Bob Motzko, his collegiate and World Juniors head coach. But when Ziemer wants to say something, it grabs everyone’s attention.
After Ziemer led a morning team meeting on Saturday, Dec. 27, about cleaning up their play after a sloppy victory over Germany, he backed up his words.
Seventy-two seconds after a scoreless first period, Ziemer delivered his first goal in this year’s tournament with an upper-shelf laser, jumpstarting Team USA to a 2-1 victory over Switzerland at Grand Casino Arena. Will Zellers, who wasn’t even on the USA roster at the beginning of the month, scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period.
“We had a meeting this morning and talked about what we need to do if we wanted to have success,” Ziemer said. “I’m proud of the group for coming out and answering the bell.”
Defenseman Adam Kleber added: “I think it just comes down to leaders, like Brodie, and what he’s saying on the bench.”
The Americans have never lost to Switzerland in the World Juniors, with an all-time record of 26-0-2.
After a frustrating first period for Team USA, when several strong scoring chances were turned away, Ziemer helped his teammates relax.
Ziemer called for the puck after Will Horcoff muscled it into the offensive zone and found James Hagens with a centering pass. Hagens slipped a drop pass to Ziemer, who unfurled a shot that snuck just below the crossbar.
“I think the whole rink might have heard him there,” Hagens said, smiling, when asked if he heard Ziemer call for the puck. “It was loud.”
Ten minutes later, midway through the second period, the whole team was shaken up after a scary injury to standout defender Cole Hutson in the second period. Hutson, struck by a puck near his neck, was taken off the ice on a stretcher and transported to a nearby hospital.
Motzko said Hutson rejoined the team after the game.
“Cole, he’s our best player, hands down,” Zellers said. “He takes over games. He has such a big impact on our team.”
Ninety seconds after Team USA players wished Hutson well as he was stretchered off the ice, Switzerland tied the score on a blue-line drive from defender Basile Sansonnens that flew over U.S. goaltender Nicholas Kempf’s glove.
The announced crowd of 13,984 fell silent after Hutson’s injury and remained that way after the Swiss goal. Then there was a five-minute delay because the arena had to wait for another ambulance to arrive.
Switzerland nearly scored on the next faceoff after it turned into a breakaway for Cyrill Henry.
“It’s tough on any team when you have one of your top players go down,” Hagens said. “It’s a shock emotionally.”
Team USA players kept reminding each other: “We had a game to win,” Ziemer said. “Doing it for him.”
Zellers, who also scored two goals in Team USA’s tournament opener against Germany, brought the crowd back into a frenzy when he scored with 5:20 left in the second period. Skating around the left circle, Zellers snuck a short-side goal, somehow, past Swiss goaltender Christian Kirsch. The puck flipped over Kirsch’s shoulder.
“I saw him [drop] down a little bit earlier than usually they go down,” Zellers said. “I mean, he’s a big boy. He’s 6-3, so seeing him go down like that, I had a little bit of a window there.
“Just ripped it there right off his ear. No one likes to get hit in the head, so I thought I might just fire it there and see what happens.”
Where to watch the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey tournament live and on demand for free
Viewers without cable can watch games live and on demand for free by signing up for the trial offer from DIRECTV or Fubo.
What are the differences between the streaming services?
DIRECTV – Watch live TV from major broadcast and popular cable networks. Enjoy local and national live sports, breaking news and must-see shows the moment they air. Included: unlimited cloud DVR storage space so you can record as many shows as you want and stream them from wherever you go. DTV starts as low as $19.99 per month after a 5-day free trial when you shop their customizable genre packs.
DIRECTV
5-day free trial
Get up to $40 off your first month and enjoy local and national live sports, breaking news and must-see shows.
Fubo – Fubo offers one of the widest selections of channels among live TV streaming services. More than 220 channels, including all the sports and entertainment you love, plus sports add-ons for those niche networks you rely on, and it all starts with a 5-day free trial and $30 off the first month of service.
Sling – One of the best deals in live TV streaming at just $45.99/month, offering customizable channel lineups for sports, news and entertainment. Now, Sling adds even more value with passes that let you stream live TV without a subscription: just $4.99 for a day, $9.99 for the weekend or $14.99 for a full week. These one-time payments are perfect if you just want to watch a single show, live game or special event. No commitment, no auto-renewal, just affordable access when you need it.