BC Bulletin

US Collegiate Selects Earn Historic First at 97th Spengler Cup: 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|
Joey Muldowney (Connecticut) and Ryan Walsh (Cornell) of the U.S. Collegiate Selects are all smiles after upsetting tournament host Davos at the Spengler Cup, 5-3.
Joey Muldowney (Connecticut) and Ryan Walsh (Cornell) of the U.S. Collegiate Selects are all smiles after upsetting tournament host Davos at the Spengler Cup, 5-3. | US Collegiate Selects

Wisconsin left wing Quinn Finley and Penn State left wing Matt Dimarsico both scored two goals as the U.S. Collegiate Selects pulled off a major upset by defeating host and tournament favorite HC Davos 5-3 at the the 97th Spengler Cup on Saturday.

The goal to put the game away, though, was by Denver defenseman Eric Pohlkamp at 17:49 of the third period, on a power play after SimonKnak 9f HC Davos was assessed a major penalty for illegal check to the head or neck.

Penn State right wing Aiden Fink, who is seeing his first game action since suffering a broken thumb on Oct. 30, and Minnesota Duluth center Zam Plante both had a pair of assists. Minnesota Duluth goaltender Adam Gajan made 29 saves to get the win as the U,S. never trailed.

The Americans have been the surprise of the tournament, which is the considered one of the biggest annual sporting events in Switzerland. While the U.S. team is made up of college all-stars, most of the Spengler Cup teams are made up of professionals. For example, the Canadian team, which edged the Americans in their opener 3-2, has 15 former NHL players on the roster including goaltender James Reimer.

HC Davos hgas Filip Zadina, who has 262 games of NHL experience, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, and extensive experience playing for Czechia in international tournaments. Also on the roster are former North Dakota forward Adam Tambellini, and left wing Brendan Lemieux, who played on four NHL teams.

At 1-1, but with a favorable goal differential (7-6), the U.S. won't find out its next opponent until Canada and HC Davos play on Sunday to wrap up the three-team "Cattini" pool schedule. The Torriano pool features IFK Helsinki, Sparta Prague and Fribourg-Gottéron.

It's the first time in the 100-plus year history of the Spengler Cup, that a team of selected college hockey players from the NCAA are playing.

Team USA Notches Another Win at World Juniors

For the second straight day the hometown crowd has a lot to cheer about as local products Will Zellers and Brodie Ziemer scored goals as the U.S. National Junior Team defeated Switzerland 2-1 in the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship at Grand Casino Arena.

Zellers, who grew up in Maple Grove, Minn., and plays collegiately at North Dakota, had two goals in the opener against Germany. He has the early tournament lead in goal scored with three and is second in points with four.

Ziemer, named the U.S. Player of the Game, grew up in the State of Hockey as well and plays for the Minnesota Gophers. His goal to open the scoring came on a drop pass from Boston College center James Hagens at 1:12 in the second period.

Notre Dame goaltender Nick Kempf made 16 saves as the Americans improved to 2-0 in the preliminary round. The U.S. outshot Switzerland, 20-17.

"I thought we were better tonight," said U.S. forward Max Plante (UMD). "We didn't give up as many chances. We didn't score as many either, but I thought overall we played more of a style of hockey we want to play. They came at us in layers and had two guys on the puck, and if we had one guy they outmanned us in some situations. I thought their goalie played well. But it was a weird game. There were a lot of stoppages."

Team USA will have Sunday off, and face Slovakia on Monday before wrapping up pool play against Sweden on Wednesday.

2026 World Junior Championship

At St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn,
Sunday's Games (All Times ET)
Sweden vs. Switzerland; 2 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Finland vs. Latvia; 4:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN

Puck Drop: Sunday, December 28, 2025

• Boston University standout defenseman Cole Hutson was removed from the ice on a stretcher after taking a puck to his head roughly midway through the second period of the U.S. National Junior Team win. He was responsive to teammates and moving his arms and legs before being taken to an area hospital. USA Hockey said in a release that he was back with the team and is considered "Day to day." He'll be reevaluated in the morning.

• Michigan's Michael Hage one-timed a cross-ice pass from Penn State's Gavin McKenna to give Canada a 2-1 win in overtime over Latvia at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship inside 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. "He's a special player," Canadian goalie Jack Ivankovic said of his Michigan teammate Hage. "He's awesome. When you give him so much time and space, the puck's going to go in the net." Ivankovic made 29 saves for the win. He was the goaltender on the losing end a year ago when Latvia stunned Canada 3-2 with a shootout win.

• Former Harvard right wing Alex Laferriere notched his first NHL hat trick as the Los Angeles Kings won at home against Anaheim, 6-1. ...  Former Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to seven games as San Jose won at Vancouver 6-3. ... Auston Matthews (National Developmental Team Program) had a goal and two assists, and former Minnesota forward Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist as Toronto edged Ottawa 7-5. Former Boston College goaltender Joseph Woll made 26 saves.

• The ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players' Association announced that they had reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining deal to end the strike that lasted two days and resulted 28 games cancelled. No details were made available and the agreement still needs to be ratified by the board of governors and the full player membership.

• Arizona State welcomed college hockey from the break with a big 5-1 win at No. 8 Dartmouth, to hand the Big Green its first home loss of the season. The Sun Devils scored four unanswered goals in the final two periods and outshot the home team 27-23. Technically, it was Dartmouth's second straight loss after an 11-0 start to the season, as it took a 3-2 in overtime in its last game to New Hampshire on Dec. 14. The one goal scored was a second low for the Big Green, as ASU senior goaltender Connor Hasley made 22 saves to record his third win over a top-10 opponent. The teams will conclude a weekend series on Sunday.

Saturday's Score

MEN
Non-Conference
Arizona State 5, No. 8 Dartmouth 1

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

College Hockey Schedule

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 28, 1929: Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuck was born in Winnipeg.

December 28, 1932: Hall of Fame defenseman Harry Howell was born in Hamilton, Ontario.

December 28, 1949: North Dakota center Dave Hudson was born in St. Thomas, Ontario.

December 28, 1960: Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque was born in Montreal.

December 28, 1969: Charlie Burns, who at one point in 1959 was the only US-born player in the NHL, replaced Wren Blair as head coach of the Minnesota North Stars. A couple of months later he put the gear back on and became the last player/coach in NHL history.

December 28, 1975: The New York Rangers were the first NHL team to host a touring Soviet hockey team. The Soviet Red Army national team won 7-3 at Madison Square Garden.

December 28, 1981: Michigan left wing Dave Moss was born in Livonia, Mich.

December 28, 1982: Alaska Anchorage center Curtis Glencross was born in Kindersley, Saskatchewan.

December 28, 1984: Hall of Fame goaltender Tom Barrasso notched his second-straight shutout and fourth of his NHL career as Buffalo defeated Winnipeg 4-0. Defenseman Phil Housley had a goal and two assists.

December 28, 1986: Former Minnesota center Neal Broten had a 'pure' hat trick as the Minnesota North Stars lost at Winnipeg 5-4. Overall, it was his fifth NHL hat trick.

December 28, 1989: A huge brawl broke out during warmups for the North Stars at Black Hawks game before the officials were on the ice, resulting in numerous fines and suspensions. When the game finally started, the teams combined for 50 minutes in penalties in the first period, and 132 overall. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.   

December 28, 1993: Fomer Denver right wing Kevin Dineen notched his 300th assist, and also scored a goal, as the Philadelphia Flyers tied Pittsburgh 4-4.

December 28, 2000: The St. Louis Blues acquired former Minnesota defenseman Dan Trebil from Pittsburgh for defenseman Marc Bergevin.

December 28, 2002: Former Minnesota right wing Trent Klatt and Todd Bertuzzi both scored two early goals as five of Vancouver’s first 11 shots went into the net during a 7-3 home win against Anaheim.

December 28, 2008: Dustin Byfuglien became the first Minnesota native to have a four-point game against the Wild at home. He had two goals and two assists to lead a 4-1 victory for the Blackhawks.

Hockey Quote of the Day

“I am a hockey player from California but hate the cold.”
Angela Ruggiero

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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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