The

World Junior Hockey Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally ...

is played every year from December 26 to January 5, and is a major event on the sporting calendar for many Canadians. Every year

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

plays their final Round Robin game on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

. In years when the tournament is played in or near Canada, large crowds attend the game. It is also broadcast annually by TSN (English) and RDS (French), attracting large audiences. In years that Canada and the United States are grouped in the same pool, the United States is usually Canada's opponent. If the tournament doesn't schedule games on New Year's Eve, such as in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Canada will play on December 30 instead. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Canada's last round-robin game was also December 30; however, the marquee matchup against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

was held the afternoon of December 29 on the outdoor surface of

New Era Field Highmark Stadium (also known colloquially as The Ralph) is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, United States, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. It is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). ...

List of games

Notes

References

{{New Year Canada men's national ice hockey team World Junior Ice Hockey Championships