Two Big Ten Freshmen Move on to OHL

A pair of Big Ten freshmen left their respective schools this month to skate in the Ontario Hockey League.

Christian Humphreys (Michigan) left the Wolverines to join the Kitchener Rangers, after recording one assist in 10 NCAA games. A 5-foot-11, 170-pound  forward from Pittsburgh, and a seventh-round selection of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2024 NHL Draft, he had one goal through his first three OHL contests.

Also departing the college ranks was forward Noah Powell (Ohio State), who moved on to the Oshawa Generals after notching two goals and three assists for five points in 17 appearances with the Buckeyes. A native of Northbrook, Ill., the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Powell was chosen in the fifth round last summer by the Philadelphia Flyers, and had notched two assists in his first two outings with Oshawa.

ASU Win Streak Ends, Still Atop NCHC

Arizona State's winning streak may have come to an end, but the Sun Devils remain atop the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings.

ASU's 10-game win streak, which dated back to Nov. 16, ended on Saturday with a 4-3 overtime loss to visiting North Dakota, one night after the Sun Devils bested UND by a 4-1 count at Mullett Arena. Both teams are now tied for first place in the NCHC with 19 points, with UND at 7-3-2-0 (W-L-OTW-OTL) and ASU at 6-4-1-2.

ASU (11-8-1 overall) is in its first campaign in the NCHC after spending the first nine seasons of its NCAA Division I existence as an independent. The Sun Devils are currently 14th in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the selection process for the NCAA tournament.

U.S. Wins Second Straight WJC Gold Medal

Teddy Stiga (Boston College) scored on a partial breakaway just over eight minutes into 3-on-3 overtime to lift the United States to a 4-3 win over Finland in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal game tonight in Ottawa.

Team USA overcame deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-1 to claim its second straight WJC gold medal and seventh overall, all of them coming since 2004. James Hagens (Boston College) recorded the first U.S. goal to forge a 1-1 tie in the first period, while Brandon Svoboda (Boston University) and Cole Hutson (Boston University) tallied second-period scores to tie the contest at 3-3 after 40 minutes of play.

Ryan Leonard (Boston College), who earned tournament MVP honors, had two assists on the night, while Trey Augustine (Michigan State) made 21 saves in goal for the Americans. Hutson led all WJC scorers with three goals and eight assists for 11 points in seven games, while Leonard was third overall with 5-5—10 points and Augustine finished with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.

Czechia defeated Sweden, 3-2, in a shootout to claim the bronze medal. Next year's WJC will be contested in Minnesota, the first time it will be held in the U.S. since Buffalo in 2018.

Frozen Confines Success in Chicago

The first-ever Frozen Confines at Chicago's historic Wrigley Field this month featured two ties and two wins among some of the top Division I hockey teams in the nation from the Big Ten and the WCHA.

On Jan. 3, Penn State and Notre Dame skated to a 3-3 tie, with UND winning the subsequent shootout, while Ohio State edged Michigan, 4-3. On Jan. 4, Michigan State outlasted Wisconsin, 4-3, in overtime, while in WCHA women's hockey, Wisconsin and Ohio State tied, 3-3, with OSU claiming the shootout victory.

Each game at the longtime home of MLB's Chicago Cubs drew in excess of 24,00 spectators, in a venue that seats 41,649 for baseball.

UNH Blanks Princeton, 3-0

Jared Whale made 15 saves for the shutout, and visiting New Hampshire scored three third-period goals to top Princeton, 3-0, on Friday night at Hobey Baker Rink in non-conference play.

After UNH killed off a five-minute major penalty to Marty Lavins that spanned the second and third periods, the Wildcats (9-4-3 overall) got goals from Ryan Conmy, Robert Cronin and Lavins (empty net) in a span of just under 12 minutes to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games. For Whale, who played the last two seasons with Alaska Anchorage, it was his second shutout of the season, and fourth of his NCAA career.

Arthur Smith made 16 stops for the Tigers (6-5-1), who saw their five-game winning streak snapped as they were shut out at home for the first time in almost two years. The two schools will close out their two-game series on Saturday at Princeton at 4 p.m. ET.

ADDENDUM: UNH raced out to a 3-0 first-period lead in the rematch, then held on for a 4-3 win. 

U.S. Drops Swiss in WJC Quarterfinals

Fresh off a convincing 4-1 victory over host Canada in its last game of round-robin play on New Year's Eve, the United States moved closer to defending its gold medal status at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa with a 7-2 win today over Switzerland in the quarterfinal round.

James Hagens (Boston College) and Ryan Leonard (Boston College) each scored two goals for the Group A champion Americans, who also got 17 saves in goal from Hampton Slukynsky (Western Michigan) and three assists offensively from Gabe Perreault (Boston College).

The U.S. will now face Czechia in the WJC semifinals on Saturday. The other semifinal will match Sweden and Finland, with the winners to meet on Sunday for the championship.

ADDENDUM: Team USA defeated Czechia, 4-1, and will face Finland on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET (NHL Network) for the gold. Czechia will meet Sweden for the bronze.

Hockey New Year 2025