2012 World Junior Hockey Championship Schedule: Czech Republic, Slovakia Get Underway Tuesday

There are just two games on the schedule on Tuesday at the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship in Alberta as the preliminary round of the tournament continues.

Outside medal contenders Czech Republic kick off their tournament against Denmark, which lost to the United States 11-3 on Monday night in Edmonton, while Slovakia kicks off their tournament in Group A action against Latvia, which lost 9-4 to Sweden on Monday.

Czech Republic vs. Denmark faces off at 8 p.m. ET in Group B action from Edmonton, and the game will be aired on TSN in Canada. There’s no television coverage of the game in the United States. Latvia and Slovakia face off at 10 p.m. ET from Calgary, and there is no television coverage of that game in either North American hockey nation. Going out on a limb and guessing there’s no coverage in Mexico, either.

The Czechs are likely the only team in action Tuesday with any hopes of medaling, but playing in a group with Canada, the United States and Finland isn’t doing them any favors. Slovakia, then, likely has an easier chance at advancing past the preliminary round as one of the top three teams in Group A, but it doesn’t seem like they have as much firepower as even the Czechs, and they almost certainly can’t match up with the big guns of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Latvia and Denmark are just trying to stay in the running for the 2013 tournament.

For complete coverage of the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship, check in with international hockey blog Puck Worlds.