BC Bulletin

Inspiring Run by U.S. Collegiate Selects in Spengler Cup Ends: Puck Drop

Your daily briefing on what's going on in college hockey, everything from the assists on the ice to the Zamboni.
Christopher Walsh|
The U.S. Collegiate Selects had a strong performance while placing second at the 97th Spangler Cup in Switzerland.
The U.S. Collegiate Selects had a strong performance while placing second at the 97th Spangler Cup in Switzerland. | U.S. Collegiate Selects

They were in it until the end, but the U.S. Collegiate Selects couldn't continue the magic that led to a surprising run to the title game of the 97th Spengler Cup in Switzerland, as host HC Davos took control late to win the championship 6-3 Wednesday.

The U.S. had managed to tie the game at 3-3 after two periods, as Ryan Walsh (Cornell), Aiden Fink (Penn State) and Jack Musa (Massachusetts) netted equalizing goals for the Americans. HC Davos, which had lost to the Americans earlier in the tournament, got an early power-play goal from former NHL player Rasmus Asplund, followed by two goals from former North Dakota forward Adam Tambellini to keep the pressure on.

HC Davos outshot the U.S 32-23, but didn't break the game open until the final five minutes, when Filip Zadina and Enzo Corvi scored 90 seconds apart, followed by an empty-net goal by Matej Stransky to complete the scoring. Minnesota Duluth goaltender Adam Gajan made 26 saves and took the loss.

Fink was named to the all-tournament team.

Even though the Selects didn't win take home the first-place trophy, they were in many ways the story of the tournament. The beat the favored home team to win their group and defeated another veteran pro team, Sparta Praha, to advance to the championship. Along the way, they went from the local betting houses pegging to finish last, to the souvenir stands reportedly selling out of the red, white and blue jerseys.

U.S. has Setback at World Junior Championship

Chase Reid (Michigan State commitment), Will Zellers (North Dakota), and Teddy Stiga (Boston College) all scored, but the United States couldn't overcome a four-goal second period by Sweden, which won Group A of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 6-3 victory in St. Paul, Minn.

Lucas Pettersson and Eddie Genborg both scored goals and Love Harenstam made 28 saves as Sweden led at one point 5-1. The U.S. managed to score two late second-period goals, but then took two penalties for a 5-on-3 situation early in the third, which Sweden converted with a goal with one second remaining on the first penalty.

"They're a pretty good team and we didn't play our best," Reid said. "We'll see them again, and we'll get them back. I feel like we can play the same way, but we didn't bring our best game tonight. We took a lot of undisciplined penalties that we didn't need to take, but it's a learning lesson and we'll come back stronger."

Goaltender Brady Knowling from the U.S. Nationaly Team Development Program made his first appearance in the tournament. He stopped 23 shots before being replaced by Nick Kempf (Notre Dame).

While the loss didn't eliminate the U.S. from the tournament, it will almost certainly make it tougher for the two-time reigning champion to return to the title game. As the second-place team in Group A, it'll face Finland in the quarterfinals, with the winner playing the winner of Canada and Slovakia.

Canada defeated Finland 7-4 to finish atop the Group B standings, and had a 32-18 edge in shots.

2026 IIHF World Junior Championship Schedule

At Minneapolis, St. Paul., Minn. (All Times ET)
Wednesday's Scores
Switzerland 3, Slovakia 2
Czechia 4. Latvia; 2
Sweden 6, United States 3
Canada 7, Finland 4

Friday's Games
Relegation game: Germany vs. Denmark, 3M Arena; 12:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal : Sweden vs. Latvia, Grand Casino Arena; 2 p.m., NHLN
Quarterfinal 2: Czechia vs. Switzerland, 3M Arena; 4:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal 3: United State vs. Finland, Grand Casino Arena; 6 p.m., NHLN
Quarterfinal 4: Canada vs. Slovakia, 3M Arena; 8:30 p.m., NHLN

Puck Drop: Monday, October 6, 2025

• No. 11 Connecticut outshot Long Island 46-29, but didn't pull away until it scored three goals in the third period, by freshman Carlin Dezainde, senior Ryan Tattle and senior captain Tabor Heaslip. Sophomore Kaden Shahan had two assists while senior Tyler Muszelik made 28 saves to get the win.

• Team Canada Officially Unveils Olympic Roster (Note: The U.S. roster is set, but won't be announced until Friday morning).

• The NHL announced that the Winter Classic game slated for Friday night between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers at loanDepot park in Miami is officially sold out.

Wednesday's College Hockey Scores

MEN
Non-Conference
No. 11 UConn 4, Long Island 1

Exhibition
Niagara 4,. Guelph 2

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Thursday's College Hockey Schedule

No Games Scheduled: Happy New Year!

This Date in Hockey History:

January 1, 1893: Hall of Fame forward Barney Stanley was born in Edmonton.

January 1, 1907: St. Thoams center Doc Romnes, who coached at Michigan tech and Minnesota, was born in White Bear Lake, Minn.

January 1, 1916: Murray Armstrong, who as a coach won five NCAA championships with Denver, was born in Manor, Saskatchewan.

January 1, 1932: Boston University goaltender John Aiken was born in Arlington, Mass.

January 1, 1958: Boston University and Miracle on Ice right wing Dave Silk was born in Scituate, Mass.

January 1, 1961: Rookie Willie O’Ree, the league’s first black player, scored the first goal of his career, the game-winner in a 3-2 win for Boston over the Montreal Canadiens.

January 1, 1968: Harvard right wing C.J. Young was born in Waban, Mass.

January 1, 1973: Bobby Orr tied an NHL record for defensemen by recording six assists, joining Babe Pratt (1944) and Pat Stapleton (1969), as Boston beat Vancouver 8-2.

January 1, 1986: Hall of Fame owner of the Detroit Red Wings Bruce Norris, who attended Yale and served in the Navy during World War II, died in Stony Brook, N.Y. He was 61.

January 1, 1988: Northern Michigan Mark Olver was born in Burnaby, British Columbia.

January 1, 1989: Former Cornell center Joe Nieuwendyk scored five goals during Calgary’s 7-1 rout of the Los Angeles Kings.

January 1, 1996: Yale forward Joe Snively was born in Herndon, Va.

January 1, 1998: Former Michigan Tech goaltender Damian Rodes and Bryon Dafoe combined on a 0-0 tie between the Senators and Bruins. It was the first scoreless tie in Ottawa history, and the first for Boston since 1955.

January 1, 2002: Boston University forward Quinn Hutson was born in Chicago.  

January 1, 2008: The first Winter Classic was played at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., and fittingly it snowed. Former New Hampshire goaltender Ty Conklin made 36 saves to get the shootout win.

January 1, 2009: Former Wisconsin defenseman Brian Rafalski scored the game-winning goal as Detroit defeated host Chicago 6-4 at the first Winter Classic played in a baseball stadium, Wrigley Field.

January 1, 2014: Former Denver center Tyler Bozak got both a third-period goal and the shootout winner as Toronto defeated Detroit 3-2 in front of the largest crowd to ever attend an NHL game. The Winter Classic attracted 105,491 fans to Michigan Stadium.

January 1, 2017: Auston Matthews out of the U.S. National Development Team scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the NHL celebrated its 100th season with the Centennial Classic at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. The Maple Leafs blew a three-goal lead, but won 5-4.

January 1, 2024: The first regular-season game of the Professional Women's Hockey League was played. Former Clarkson defender Ella Shelton scored the first goal in league history as New York won at Toronto 4-0.

January 1, 2024: Former Arizona State goaltender Joey Daccord made 35 saves tp become the fifth goalie in NHL history to record a shutout in a regular-season outdoor game. Host Seattle defeated Vegas 3-0 in the Winter Classic.

Hockey Quote of the Day

“[Bruins coach] Dit Clapper would ask him before the game how he felt and Brimsek would say, “Oh, I feel rotten. And Clapper would say, ‘Oh, that’s good,’ because Clapper knew Frank would have a good game if he wasn’t feeling well before. [Brimsek] was a real worrier.”
Author Tyler Dilello on Frank Brimsek

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Published
Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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