MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 05: Goaltender Tyler Parsons #1 of Team United States stops the puck with his shoulder as Taylor Raddysh #16 of Team Canada skates in during the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal game at the Bell Centre on January 5, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
I would imagine it's easier to get up to play for a gold medal as opposed to bronze, and that reflected in the starts to both medal games as the 2017 World Juniors came to a close.
The starts - because the bronze medal game did pick up in pace as it went on (before the inevitable depression that comes with losing two games in a row, and walking away with absolutely nothing to show for it - finishing fourth place has to be the absolute worst).