U.S. Collegiate Selects Win Again, to Play for Spengler Cup Title: Puck Drop
Penn State forward Aiden Fink, who has missed a good part of the college hockey season with an injury, notched a hat trick as the U.S. Collegiate Selects continued their epic run at the 97th Spengler Cup in Switzerland with a 5-2 semifinal win over Sparta Prague. They'll play host HC Davos for the championship on New Year's Eve.
Denver defenseman Eric Pohlkamp got the Americans going by blasting a power-play goal in the first period, and Fink subsequently notched his first goal just 54 seconds later. Sparta spent the rest of the game chasing the Americans on the scoreboard and never being able to draw even despite having a 35-26 edge in shots.
Fink set up teammate Charlie Cerrato to put the Americans ahead 3-1, and then he put the game out of reach with his final two goals, with left wing Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) and defenseman Vincent Borgesi (Northeastern) assisting on the first, and left wing Quinn Finley (Wisconsin) and forward T.J. Hughes (Michigan) setting up the latter early in the third period.
Fink, a Hobey Baker finalist last season, is playing his first hockey since suffering a broken thumb on Oct. 30. He has six points in three games. Minnesota State goaltender Alex Tracy earned the win, making 32 saves.
Although the Spengler Cup dates back to 1923, and promotes itself as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world, a team from the U.S. has only played in the championship one time. In 1988 the U.S. Selects included the core of the Olympics team that didn't medal with some added professionals like Corey Millen and Ron Wilson. It wasn't expected to do much in the tournament, but went on to upset Canada in the title game, 8-1.
HC Davos advanced by defeating reigning champions Fribourg-Gottéron 3-1 in the other semifinal. The U.S. upset the host team earlier in the tournament, 5-3, which caused HC Davos to play an extra game Monday while the Selects earned a bye into the semifinals. The championship game is at 6 a.m. ET, and will be shown live on YouTube.
That was cheeky! Aiden Fink with the 4-2 for the @USCollegeSelect - in Switzerland, we call that a „Buebetrickli“!#spenglercup #thepeakofhockey pic.twitter.com/EaTdALQhJY
— Spengler Cup Davos (@spenglercup) December 30, 2025
Puck Drop: Wednesday, December 31, 2025
• Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. vs. Sweden game on Wednesday, which will go a long way in determining the playoff brackets at the World Junior Championship, the IIHF announced that the U.S. quarterfinal game at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday will be played at 6 p.m. ET.
• Check out Gavin McKenna Silencing Critics at 2026 World Juniors on Break Away on SI. Thanks to his hat trick against Denmark, the Penn State freshman is leading the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in scoring with seven points (three goals and four assists). Will Zellers (North Dakota) and Michael Hage (Michigan) are among five players tied for second with six points.
2026 IIHF World Junior Championship Schedule
At Minneapolis, St. Paul., Minn. (All Times ET)
Tuesday's scores
Switzerland 4, Germany 0
Latvia 6, Denmark 3
Wednesday's Games (All on NHL Network)
Switzerland vs. Slovakia; 1 p.m.
Czechia vs. Latvia; 3:30 p.m.
United States vs. Sweden; 6 p.m.
Canada vs. Finland; 8:30 p.m.
• A day after former Boston University center Macklin Celebrini took a deflected puck to the eye and had to get stitches on and around his eyelid, he was reportedly added to the Canadian Olympic team. Six players were announced including former Massachusetts defenseman Cale Maker, and the rest of the team will be reveled Wednesday. The U.S. Olympic men's and women's hockey teams are set to be announced live on the Today show on Friday morning.
• Former Boston College goaltender Joseph Woll made 33 saves for his first shutout of the season as Toronto blanked New Jersey 4-0. It's his third career NHL shutout.
THE BRICK WOLL 🧱
— NHL (@NHL) December 31, 2025
Now that is a tremendous stick save by Joseph Woll! pic.twitter.com/tKBIcLTm3Y
Tuesday's Scores
MEN
AHA
Sacred Heart 5, Robert Morris 2
WOMEN
Non-Conference
Maine 3, Brown 2
No. 4 Penn State 1, No. 10 Cornell 0
An absolute missile! 🚀#NCAAHockey x 🎥 B1G+ / @PennStateWHKY pic.twitter.com/dBwplBUoDs
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) December 31, 2025
Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.
Wednesday's Games
MEN
Non-Conference
Long Island at No. 11 UConn, 2 p.m. ET
Exhibition
Guelph at Niagara, 2 p.m. ET
This Date in Hockey History:
December 31, 1904: Hall of Fame goaltender Charlie Gardiner was born in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
December 31, 1947: Michigan State left wing Nelson Debenedet was born in Cordenons, Italy.
December 31, 1955: Denver defenseman Lex Hudson was born in Winnipeg.
December 31, 1965: St. Lawrence right wing Peter Lappin was born in St. Charles, Ill.
December 31, 1960: Providence forward Kurt Kleinendorst was born in Grand Rapids, Minn. He’s been the head coach of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program's Under-18 team and at Alabama Huntsville.
December 31, 1968: Gordie Howe became the first player in NHL history to score 50 (or more) points 20 times in his career as Detroit defeated Minnesota 6-3.
December 31, 1981: The Minnesota North Stars sold former North Dakota center Kevin Maxwell to Colorado along with the rights to Jim Dobson, in exchange for cash.
December 31, 1988: Mario Lemieux became the first player to score five goals in five different ways in the same game: even strength, power play, shorthanded, penalty shot, and empty net. He also had three assists for an eight-point night as Pittsburgh defeated New Jersey 8-6.
December 13, 1990: Hall of Fame goaltender Tom Barrasso made 36 saves to tie a Pittsburgh record with his seventh consecutive victory as the Penguins defeated the Blues 4-3.
December 31, 1991: Providence left wing Brandon Tanev was born in Toronto.
December 31, 1991: Former North Dakota forward Dave Christian played in his 900th career NHL game, but St. Louis lost at Buffalo, 4-3.
December 31, 1992: Ferris State forward Gerald Meyhew was born in Wyandotte, Mich.
December 31, 1992: Hall of Fame center Pay LaFontaine had five assists, while Alexander Mogilny had three goals and two assists, as the Sabres defeated the Rangers 11-6.
December 31, 1992: Brian Leetch had a point in his 17th straight game to set a Rangers team record. New York won at Winnipeg 5-2.
December 31, 1993: As part of the league’s expansion efforts, the Flyers and Bruins played at the Target Center in Minnesota, with Philadelphia winning 4-3. Afterward, a North Stars tradition of allowing fans to skate on the ice on New Year’s Eve was followed.
December 31, 1993: Former Minnesota goaltender Robb Stauber made 51 saves, while his own team had just 18 shots, as the Kings tied the Red Wings 4-4.
December 31, 1998: Colorado College left wing Josiah Slavin was born in Erie, Colorado.
December 31, 1998: Former Vermont left wing John LeClair scored his 200th goal with the Philadelphia Flyers during a 6-2 victory at Vancouver.
December 31, 1999: Former UMD left wing Brett Hull scored his 600th NHL career as host Dallas defeated Anaheim 5-4. On the same night, Guy Carbonneau notched his 400th assist and Sergei Zubov played in his 500th career game,
December 31, 2003: Former Ferris State and North Dakota left wing Jason Blake had two goals and two assists as the New York Islanders won at Pittsburgh, 6-1.
December 31, 2007: Left wing Colin Stuart scored his first NHL goal for Atlanta, only to see his brother Mark get the game-winning goal for the Bruins for a 5-2 victory in Boston. Both had played at Colorado College.
December 31, 2017: Jaromir Jagr played in his final NHL game. He played in 1,733, on nine different teams.
December 31, 2023: Former New Hampshire forward Warren Foegele accomplished something Wayne Gretzky never did with the Edmonton Oilers, have at least a four-point game on New Year’s Eve. He joined Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, James Neal, Denis Grebeshkov, Chris Pronger and Mark Messier as the only players in franchise history. He finished the night with five points during a 7-2 win at Anaheim.
Hockey Quote of the Day
“When I'm coaching youth hockey, I put the boys and girls together and they can't tell the difference. They are just playing hockey.”Natalie Darwitz
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We'll Leave You With This ...
Eric Pohlkamp hammered his one-timer into the net at 164.3 km/h (102.1 miles)! 💥 The fastest shot of the tournament so far. 🚀 #ThePeakOfHockey @USCollegeSelect pic.twitter.com/UxMxzGS4So
— Spengler Cup Davos (@spenglercup) December 30, 2025
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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