2010 World Junior Championship The 2010 IIHF World U20 Championship , commonly referred to as the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships ( " 2010 WJHC " ) , was the 34th edition of World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . The tournament was hosted in Saskatoon and Regina , Saskatchewan , Canada , from December 26 , 2009 to January 5 , 2010 . This was the second time Saskatoon has hosted the tournament , after hosting it in 1991 . The medal round , as well as all Canada ' s preliminary round games , took place in Saskatoon at the Credit Union Centre . The arena underwent renovations and upgrades before the 2010 tournament , including an increase in capacity . Other games were played at the Brandt Centre in Regina , which also received upgrades . In addition , pre - tournament exhibition games were held in other towns and cities throughout the province as well as Calgary , Alberta . In the gold - medal match , the United States defeated the pre - tournament favorites and host country Canada 6 - 5 in overtime to win their second gold medal . Other host candidates . Initially , Switzerland was chosen to host the tournament , but later withdrew . Three bid groups submitted letters of intent to host the 2010 tournament prior to the February 1 , 2008 deadline : All three bid groups formally placed their bids before the April 1 , 2008 deadline and made their final presentations to the selection committee in Toronto on June 9 - June 10 , 2008 . On July 7 , 2008 , Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League ( CHL ) announced Saskatoon and Regina have been chosen to host the tournament . This was Saskatchewan ' s first successful bid in five recent attempts , after failing to land the 1999 , 2003 , 2006 , and 2009 tournaments . Top division . Only teams playing in the top division are eligible to win a medal in any given year . The lowest - ranked teams in the top division are relegated to Division I for the following year ' s tournament . Preliminary round . Ten teams were divided into two groups of five , each of which play in a single round - robin format . The winner of each group proceeded directly to the tournament semifinals , with the second - and third - place finishers advancing to the quarterfinals . The remaining four teams participated in the relegation round to determine which teams will be relegated to Division I the following year . Group A . All times local ( Central Time Zone / UTC - 6 ) Group B . All times local ( Central Time Zone / UTC - 6 ) Relegation round . Results from any games that were played during the preliminary round were carried forward to the relegation round . All times local ( Central Time Zone / UTC - 6 ) " and were relegated to Division I for the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . " Division I . For more detailed information see 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships - Division I The following teams took part in the Division I tournament . Group A played in Megeve & Saint - Gervais - les - Bains , France between December 14 and December 20 , 2009 . Group B played in Gdansk , Poland between December 14 and December 20 , 2009 : Group A . " was promoted to the Top Division and was relegated to Division II for the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . " Group B . " was promoted to the Top Division and was relegated to Division II for the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . " Division III . The tournament took place in Istanbul , Turkey from January 4 to January 10 , 2010 . and have gained promotion to Division II for the 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship .