BC Bulletin

U.S. Routs Germany 8-0 in Tuneup for Upcoming World Juniors: 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|
Boston College forward James Hagens helped lead the U.S. to an 8-0 victory over Germany in a tuneup for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships.
Boston College forward James Hagens helped lead the U.S. to an 8-0 victory over Germany in a tuneup for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships. | USA Hockey

Will Horcoff (Michigan) and Will Zellers (North Dakota) both scored two goals to lead the U.S. National Junior Team to an 8-0 victory over Germany on Saturday in its first of two tournament tuneup games in Duluth, Minn., for the upcoming 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships.

Ryker Lee (Michigan State), Teddy Stiga (Boston College), Brodie Ziemer (Minnesota) and Cole McKinney (Michigan) all found the net as well after a scoreless first period. Brady Knowling (USA Hockey National Team Development Program) and Nick Kempf (Notre Dame) split duties in goal and both had 12 saves.

“It was good to get a game under our belts and I thought we did some good things,” Team USA coach  Bob Motzko (Minnesota) said. "We really like our group and we’ll look forward to getting on the ice tomorrow before we play Finland on Tuesday.”

The U.S. outshot Germany 49-24, and went 3-for-6 on the power play. Germany was 0-for-4.

The Amercians will play their second and final pre-tournament game Tuesday against Finland in Duluth, Minn. The tournament begins Dec. 26 in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., and run through Jan. 5.

SEEL ALSO: Latest College Hockey Rankings

Puck Drop: Monday, December 22, 2025

• We obviously focus on college hockey and American players, but would be remiss if we didn't mention that Sidney Crosby made NHL history Saturday night. With a goal and an assist during Pittsburgh's 4-3 shootout win over visiting Montreal, he passed Mario Lemieux for the most points in Penguins history. In his 21st season, Crosby has 1,724 points (645 goals, 1,079 assists) in 1,387 games, putting him eighth in all-time league scoring. Lemieux finished with 1,723 points (690 goals, 1,033 assists in 915 games) over 17 seasons. For more on Crosby's night, check out Break Away On SI.

• On the recruiting front, the New Hampshire Wildcats received a commitment from Cash Koch, F, Tri-City Americans (WHL). Ferris State landed commitment from Ryan Franks, D, Minnetonka (Minn.) High School. Ryan Franks announced his commitment to Canisius. The forward is playing this season with the Maryland Black Bears (NAHL).

• Jack Hughes, out of the U.S. National Development Team, returned to the ice for New Jersey after missing 18 games and scored a goal as the Devils lost 3-1 at home to the Sabres. The center suffered a freak hand injury sustained at a team dinner. ... Rangers forward J.T. Miller is week to week for after sustaining an upper-body injury during a 5-4 shootout win against the Flyers.

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

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 22, 1959: Boston University left wing Paul Fenton was born in Springfield, Mass.

December 22, 1974: Former Michigan Tech goaltender Tony Esposito notched his 51st career shutout, tying the franchise record set by Glenn Hall, in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 3-0 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. On the same night, Tony’s brother Phil scored two goals during Boston’s 5-4 victory over Detroit to become the sixth player in NHL history to score 500 goals.

December 22, 1977: Maine left wing Steve Kariya was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

December 22, 1979: Philadelphia defeated Boston 5-2 to extend its unbeaten streak to 29 games (29-0-10), topping the previous NHL record of 28 set by Montreal in 1978-79.

December 22, 1980: The U.S. Olympic Hockey Team appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and named “Sportsmen of the Year.”

December 22, 1981: The 1982 World Junior Championship began with Canada and the United States serving as hosts, and the majority of games played at numerous sites throughout Minnesota. Venues included Brainerd, Bloomington, Burnsville, Duluth, Grand Rapids, International Falls, Mankato, Minneapolis New Ulm, Rochester St. Cloud and Virginia. Canada won the sixth edition of the tournament, its first title, and the U,S. placed sixth.

December 22, 1982: Just after being awarded Sports Illustrated’s "Sportsman of the Year," Wayne Gretzky got into one of just two career NHL fights. It was against former Minnesota center Nel Broten. The Edmonton Oilers took it out on the Minnesota North Stars, 8-2.

December 22, 1985: Former Minnesota right wing Scott Bjugstad recorded his second career hat trick during the Minnesota North Stars' 8-3 win at New Jersey.

December 22, 1987: Former Harvard defenseman Neil Sheehy tallied a goal and two assists as Calgary Flames notched the 550th victory in franchise history, a 6-5 overtime win over the visiting Hartford Whalers.

December 22, 1988: Maine goaltender Scott Darling was born in Newport News, Va.

December 22, 1996: Former UMD left wing Brett Hull scored his 500th goal while netting a hat trick for St. Louis during a 7-4 victory against visiting Los Angeles. It came 25 years to the day that his father, Bobby Hull, who is also in the 500-goal club, got his final career hat trick during a 4-1 victory for Chicago against the California Golden Seals.

December 22, 2005: For the first time in Minnesota State history, two former players faced in each other in an NHL game. Neither figured in the scoring, but Tim Jackson did get a fighting penalty as his Phoenix Coyotes defeated the visiting San Jose Sharks as Tim Jackson made his league debut.  

December 22, 2008: Former Minnesota defenseman Alex Goligoski had two goals and an assist as a rookie, and Sidney Crosby scored 43 seconds into overtime as Pittsburgh won at Buffalo, 4-3.

December 22, 2016: Jaromir Jagr picked up an assist to surpass Mark Messier for second place on the NHL’s all-time points list (1,888). The game was halted and Jagr presented a golden stick to mark the achievement, however the Florida Panthers lost to the Boston Bruins 3-1.

Hockey Quote of the Day

“It is with emotion too poignant for orderly thought or precise expression that I write of Hobey Baker, whose death last Saturday, through the falling of his airplane at Toul, has just been announced. I don't think anyone who knew Hobey Baker personally, or as an athlete, will have any feeling other than that he was qualified to stand aloof as the ultimate product of all that is worthy, not alone in American college athletics, but in American college life.''
Lawrence Perry

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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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