2008 World Junior A Challenge
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |
 Canada
|
| Dates | November 1, 2008 – November 7, 2008 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Venue(s) | Edgeworth Centre in Camrose, Alberta |
| Final positions | |
Champions 
|
 United States (1st title)
|
Runner-up 
|
Canada West
|
Third place 
|
Canada East
|
| Fourth place |
 Belarus
|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Scoring leader(s) |
Mike Cichy (10 pts.) |
| MVP |
Mike Cichy
|
|
← 2007
2009 →
|
|
The 2008 World Junior A Challenge was an international Junior "A" ice hockey tournament hosted by Hockey Canada. The 2008 World Junior A Challenge was hosted by the Canadian City of Camrose, Alberta from November 1 to November 9, 2008 at the Edgeworth Centre. The opening ceremony included a performance from Tom Cochrane.
Same as the 2007 World Junior A Challenge, the 2008 edition will include Belarus, Canada East and West, Germany, Russia, and the United States. Slovakia, again, is not competing and has not since the 2006 World Junior A Challenge.
Only three exhibition games were scheduled for prior to the 2008 WJAC tournament. On October 29, Canada West challenged the varsity team from Augustana University College. The West defeated Augustana 9-2. The same night, Canada East played the varsity team from Portage College. The East was victorious, taking the game 7-1. Two nights later, Canada East and Canada West met in Camrose for an exhibition rematch of the 2006 and 2007 tournament finals. The East took the game 4-2.
On November 2, the tournament kicked off with the opening game between Belarus and defending 2-time champion Canada West. The West went up early 2-0 only to have Belarus take one back late in the first frame. The West entered the second period with a 2-1 lead only to give up costly goals 13 seconds and 28 seconds into the frame—leading to a Belorussian 3-2 lead. Around two minutes later the Canadians came back to tie the game at 3's. There was no scoring during the rest of regulation. Overtime was uneventful, so the game went to a shootout. Belarus' Bialinski stopped all three penalty shots, while Canada's Bodnarchuk let in his first, shot by Yauheni Salamonau, and stopped his second. The result was a 4-3 upset victory for a Belorussian squad that had only won once in its last 8 WJAC games.
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