The United States opened their world junior hockey championship title defense in impressive style on Thursday, routing Germany 10-4 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson dazzled with five assists to lead a high-powered American attack in the Group A opener.
Eagles Connection Shines for USA
Boston College forwards James Hagens and Gabe Perreault each scored twice to spark the U.S. onslaught. Hagens added two assists for a four-point game, while Perreault’s pair helped the Americans pull away. The BC connection was on full display in Ottawa.
Depth Fuels American Scoring Burst
Seven different U.S. players found the back of the net in a balanced attack. Along with the BC duo, Minnesota’s Brodie Ziemer scored two goals, while single tallies came from BU’s Brandon Svoboda and Cole Eiserman, Providence’s Trevor Connelly, and Carey Terrance of the OHL’s Erie Otters. The Americans simply had too much firepower for Germany to contain.
I thought overall we did a lot of good things and we’ll continue to grow and build. It was good to get a win under our belt and we’ll turn our focus now to playing Latvia on Saturday.
– U.S. coach David Carle
Augustine Solid in Goal for USA
Michigan State’s Trey Augustine turned aside 18 shots for the victory. While Germany managed to score four times, the U.S. netminder made key saves to prevent any thoughts of a German comeback. Augustine will be counted on as the Americans seek a repeat gold medal.
Germany Hangs Tough Early
To their credit, the Germans made things interesting early, twice cutting two-goal deficits in half in the first period. Julius Sumpf and David Lewandowski kept Germany close with first period tallies. But the U.S. exploded for six straight goals to turn the game into a laugher. Lenny Boos and Timo Ruckdaschel added late goals for Germany.
- The U.S. peppered German goalie Nico Pertuch with 56 shots, while holding a 32-9 edge in shots over the final two periods.
- Team USA looks to continue their winning ways against Latvia on Saturday, while Germany faces a tough test versus Finland on Friday.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| USA | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| Germany | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
In other action on Thursday, Sweden downed Slovakia 5-2 and Czechia topped Switzerland 5-1 in Group B play. The marquee matchup of opening day sees host Canada battle Finland in Group A action Thursday night. But the day belonged to the red, white and blue, as the U.S. stormed out of the gates in their quest for back-to-back world junior championships.
