Big Ten Contender Close to Key Player Returning from Injury: Puck Drop, Holiday Edition

The the United States Collegiate Selects hockey team held its first team meeting on Sunday, and first practice in Boston on Monday, while also announcing a change as Quinnipiac sophomore forward Chris Pelosi has been added to the 25-man roster.

He'll replace Colorado College forward Owen Beckner, who is out with an injury and won't be able to play in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland beginning Dec. 26.

But that wasn't the big news surrounding the team. It didn't announce a replacement for Penn State forward Aiden Fink, a Hobey Baker finalist last season, who has been out since taking a slash against Ohio State on Oct. 30.

“Aiden broke his thumb very early in the season. He's missed about half the games," Guy Gadowsky, head coach for both the U.S. team and the Nittany Lions, said on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. “He’s coming with us to the Spengler Cup, so he’s going to get his feet under him.”

Penn State was 8-1 after it defeated the Buckeyes the night Funk was hurt, and was subsequently up to No. 3 in the polls. However, the Nittany Lions have gone 3-4 since and dropped all the way to No. 9 The program that made a late-season run last year that didn't end until the Frozen Four finished the first half the season at No. 8 in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index that will be used to determine this year's tournament field.

Got to work 😤#USCS x #ThePeakOfHockey pic.twitter.com/39ebZjKee5
— U.S. Collegiate Selects (@USCollegeSelect) December 22, 2025

Puck Drop: December 23-26, 2025

First off, Happy Holidays to you and your families, and thank you so much for being here! With college hockey off this week, and the NHL as well for a couple of days following Tuesday's 13 games, the primary aim for this edition of Puck Drop is to make sure you're ready for what's coming up in the near future.

On Friday, the U.S. takes Collegiate Selects will face Team Canada to open Spengler Cup play in Switzerland, with the games shown on the official YouTube channel. Meanwhile, the IIHF World Junior Championship will get under way in the Twin Cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., with the NHL Network holding the U.S. broadcasting rigths.

2026 IIHF World Junior Championship

Preliminary Round (Dec 26 - Dec 31)
(St. Paul): USA, Sweden, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland
(Minneapolis): Canada, Czechia, Finland, Latvia, Denmark

December 26, 2025
Sweden vs. Slovakia (Group A), noon CT
Denmark vs. Finland (Group B), 1:30 p.m.
Germany vs. USA (Group A), 5 p.m.
Czechia vs. Canada (Group B), 7:30 p.m.

• The College Hockey News reported that Colorado College is close to finalizing the addition of 21-year old Mats Lindgren to its roster for the second semester. He's been trying to get a waiver from the NCAA after playing 56 games for Wheeling in the ECHL, and seven game for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL last season.

• Former Michigan defenseman Zach Werenski, who did not play in Monday's game because of a lower-body injury, was named the thrid star of the week by the NHL. He tied for the league lead with five goals in three games, and had two assists for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

• Recruiting news: Forward Will Schlechtweg of the Kent School (Conn.) announced his commitment to Maine; UND landed a commitment from defenseman Brayden Klimpke, Saskatoon Blades (WHL); St. Thomas received a commitment from forward Owen Corkish, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL). St. Lawrence laded three commitments, D Max Dirracolo; Kitchener Rangers (OHL); C Ihnat Pazii, Flint Firebirds (OHL); D Max Hense, Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL, his is for 2027.

• The Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced that its ECHL members have issued a strike notice for Friday after collective bargaining talks broke down. The developmental league has 30 teams, including 29 in the U.S.

• Matthew Tkchuck of the Florida Panthers, and out of the U.S. National Development Program, said on his podcast with his brother Brady (Boston University): “I want University of Miami to get a D1 program. I will do everything I can to help make that kind of like [Arizona State] is now.”

“My goal is to grow the game of hockey down here … I want it to be in a way better place than when I got here.”

Matthew is ALL in for growing hockey in Florida 🌴 pic.twitter.com/fVlaYRkm9D
— Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk (@Wingmenpod) December 19, 2025

End of 2025 College Hockey Schedule

Saturday, December 27
MEN
Non-Conference
Arizona State at No. 8 Dartmouth, 5 p.m. ET

Sunday, December 28
ECAC
Brown at Princeton, 2 p.m. ET

Non-Conference
Arizona State at Dartmouth, 3 p.m. ET
Army at Long Island, 5 p.m. ET

Great Lakes Invitational (at Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Miami vs. Michigan Tech, 3:37 p.m. ET
Ferris State vs. No. 3 Michigan State, 7 p.m. ET

Holiday Face-Off (at Milwaukee, Wis.)
Lake Superior vs. No. 2 Wisconsin, 7 p.m. CT
No. 12 Boston College vs. No. 7 Western Michigan, 7:30 CT

Exhibition
Concordia at No. 10 Quinnipiac, 2:00 ET
Bentley at UMass Lowell, 3:30 ET

Monday, December 29
Hockey East
Merrimack at Vermont, 6 p.m ET

Holiday Face-Off (at Milwaukee, Wis.)
Third-Place Game, 4 p.m. CT
Championship, 7:30 p.m. CT

Great Lakes Invitational (at Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Third-Place Game, 4 p.m. ET
Championship, 7:30 p.m. ET

Non-Conference
RIT at Clarkson. 6 p.m. ET

Exhibition
US Under-18 at Bowling Green. 7 p.m. ET

Tuesday, December 30
AHA
Robert Morris at Sacred Heart, 4 p.m. ET

Wednesday, December 31
Non-Conference
Long Island at No. 11 UConn, 2 p.m. ET
Exhibition
Guelph at Niagara, 2 p.m. ET

WOMEN
Tuesday, December 30
Non-Conference
Brown vs. Maine. 5 p.m. ET (Portland, Maine)
No. 10 Cornell at No. 4 Penn State, 6 p.m. ET

This Date in Hockey History:

December 23

December 23, 1891: Hall of Fame left wing Cy Denneny was born in Farran’s Point, Ontario.

December 23, 1916: Hall of Fame left wing Woody Dumart was born in Berlin, Ontario.

December 23, 1976: Maine defenseman Brett Clark was born in Wapella, Saskatchewan.

December 23, 1979: Scott Gomez, the first Alaska-born NHL player, was born in Anchorage.

December 23, 1980: Former Minnesota and Miracle on Ice right wing Steve Christoff notched his first NHL hat trick as the rookie helped lead the North Stars to a 6-2 win at Detroit.

December 23, 1980: The Winnipeg Jets snapped a 30-game winless streak (0-23-7) by edging the Colorado Rockies 5-4.

December 23, 1983: Michigan Tech right wing Chris Conner was born in Westland, Mich.

December 23, 1986: North Dakota forward T.J. Oshie, who played 1,010 games in the NHL, was born in Everett, Wash.

December 23, 1987: At 22 years, nine months and 23 days, Hall of Fame goaltender Tom Barrasso became the youngest netminder to win 100 NHL games, and just the third in Buffalo Sabres history.

December 23, 1989: Hall of Fame center Jeremy Roenick scored his first career hat trick. The rookie helped lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 7-5 win in Toronto.

December 23, 1989: Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Houlsey notched four assists and had five points to tie the Buffalo Sabres single-game records for a defenseman during a 6-5 win at Quebec.

December 23, 1990: Former North Dakota right wing Dave Christian scored his 300th NHL goal as Boston tied the Rangers in New York, 5-5.

December 23, 1991: The Los Angeles Kings acquired former North Dakota right wing Corey Millen from the New York Rangers for left wing Randy Gilhen.

December 23, 1996: Former Michigan Tech goaltender Damian Rhodes posted the first shutout in Ottawa Senators history with a 6-0 victory over Montreal.

December 23, 2000: Former UMD forward Brett Hull extended his streak of scoring at least 20 goals to 14 seasons when he netted two as Dallas won 8-2 at Pittsburgh.

December 23, 2000: Former Wisconsin goaltender Curtis Jospeh netting his 300th career NHL victory as Toronto won at Montreal 5-2.

December 23, 2000: Center David Legwand, who represented the U.S. in numerous national tournaments, scored first penalty-shot overtime goal in NHL history. He also had an assist during Nashville’s 3-2 victory at the New York Rangers.

December 23, 2005: Former Clarkson center Todd White and Marian Gaborik scored 36 seconds apart in the third period to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 5-3 win over visiting Colorado.

December 23, 2017: Former North Dakota right wing Brock Boeser set a Vancouver team record by scoring his 20th goal in just 34 games as a rookie during a 3-1 loss to St. Louis.

December 23, 2022: Alexander Ovechkin goal No. 802 to pass the Gordie Howe for second on the NHL’s all-time list.

December 24: Christmas Eve

December 24, 1948: Denver left wing George Morrison was born in Toronto.

December 24, 1972: The Kings had better luck on this night by beating the California Golden Seals 5-3.

December 24, 1985: Dartmouth right wing Nick Johnson was born in Calgary, Alberta.

December 25: Christmas

December 25, 1951: Brown right wing Brian Stapleton was born in Fort Erie, Ontario.

December 26, 1952: The first game was played in the inaugural Beanpot tournament, held at the old Boston Arena, with Boston University defeating Northeastern 4-1. In the second game, subsequently played, Harvard defeated Boston College 3-2 in overtime.

December 25, 1956: Gordie Howe had hat-trick and three assists during Detroit’s 8-1 rout of the New York Rangers, most points he ever scored in a single game during his entire 26-year NHL career.

December 25, 1963: The Chicago Blackhawks beat the visiting Montreal Canadiens 3-1. It was the first game broadcasted locally on radio.

December 25, 1968: Lake Superior State center Jim Dowd was born in Brick, N.J.

December 25, 1971: The NHL played on Christmas Day for the final time, as it stopped scheduling games over the holiday. With their 2-1 victory against the Minnesota North Stars, the New York Rangers improved to 25-11-2, the league’s best record all-time on the date. American Stan Gilbertson had the final Christmas Day goal during a 3-1 victory for the Golden Seals at the Los Angeles Kings.

December 25, 1995: Bowling Green defenseman Mark Friedman was born in Toronto, Ontario.

December 26: Boxing Day (Canada)

December 26, 1935: Hall of Fame center Norm Ullman was born in Provost, Alberta.

December 26, 1951: Minnesota Duluth right wing Mark Heaslip was born in Duluth, Minn.

December 26, 1976: Former Michigan Tech goaltender Tony Esposito became the 11th goaltender in NHL history to win 250 games as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the visiting Colorado Rockies 5-3.

December 26, 1977: North Dakota right wing Lee Goren was born in Winipeg.

December 26, 1983: Former New Hampshire right wing Andy Brickley scored the only hat trick of his NHL career as Pittsburgh defeated the New York Rangers 7-4. Defenseman Randy Carlyle was credited with four assists for the Penguins.

December 26, 1987: Former Minnesota center Aaron Broten scored a goal and had two assists to become the first player to score 300 points with the New Jersey Devils. However, they lost 5-3 to the New York Rangers.

December 26, 1989: Hall of Fame defenseman Doug Harvey died in Montreal from cirrhosis of the liver. He was 65.

December 26, 1991: Former Boston College right wing Joe Mullen scored four goals for the second straight game as Pittsburgh blew out Toronto 12-1. Mario Lemieux had two goals and five assists, and former Boston College forward Kevin Stevens had two goals and four assists.

December 26, 1992: Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Housley began a Winnipeg team-record 14 game assist streak during a 5-4 loss at Minnesota.

December 26, 1999: Rookie Scott Gomez, the first Alaska-born player in the NHL, scored his first career hat trick as the Devils tie the Rangers 3-3. The win extended New Jersey’s unbeaten streak against the rival to 16 straight games (11-0-5).

December 26, 2001: Former Northeastern and Western Michigan right wing Sam Colango was born in Stoneham, Mass.

December 26, 2017: Hall of Fame goaltender Johnny Bower, who won four Staley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs, died in Mississauga, Ontario. He was 93.

Hockey Quote of the Day

December 23

“It's incredible, they're [the medals] beautiful and as soon as they put them around your neck, it's pretty amazing.”
Jennifer Botteril (Harvard)

December 24

“Hockey, honestly, was my first love. The excitement, the fast pace, the intensity of the game … I still love it to this day.”
J. J. Watt (Wisconsin)

December 25

“I was thrilled one year when I was younger when not only did my brothers get hockey sticks for Christmas, but I did too!”
Nancy Kerrigan (Emmanuel College)

December 26

“Last season we couldn’t win at home. This season we can’t win on the road. My failure as a coach is that I can’t think of anywhere else to play!”
Harry Neale

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We'll Leave You With This ...

Who is ready to watch the defending champs at the #WorldJuniors? 🇺🇸🔥#IIHF @usahockey pic.twitter.com/lhVrkKmHUf
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 22, 2025