USA Takes Bronze at 2021 World Championship

The United States garnered the bronze medal at the 2021 IIHF World Championship in Riga, Latvia. After falling to eventual gold medalist Canada by a 4-2 count in the semifinals, the Americans defeated Germany by a 6-1 score on Sunday to finish in third place.

Cal Petersen (Notre Dame) of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings led all USA goaltenders in Riga with five wins and two shutouts during the Worlds, and also recorded a 1.29 goals-against average. Jake Oettinger (Boston University) was second with three victories and a 1.37 GAA for the Americans.

Trevor Moore (Denver) of the Kings was among Team USA's leaders in Latvia with five goals and nine points, while fellow forward Colin Blackwell (Harvard) of the New York Rangers notched four goals. Christian Wolanin (North Dakota) of the Kings paced all USA blueliners with five assists and six points, while Adam Clendening (Boston University) of Cleveland (AHL) registered two goals and three assists for five points. Brian Boyle (Boston College) took over as Team USA captain after original captain Justin Abdelkader (Michigan State) was injured earlier in the tournament,

The U.S. has now medaled in two of the last three Worlds, and four of the last eight, all bronze. The 2020 tournament was canceled by COVID-19, while the 2022 competition is slated to be held in Finland, which finished as runner-up to Canada this year after winning gold in 2019.

Red Wings Bounce Devils, 4-3

Michigan State and Michigan teamed up to knock down the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night in Detroit.

With the game at Little Caesar's Arena tied at 2-2 in the third period, Detroit Red wings forward Luke Glendening (Michigan) blocked a pass by Devils defenseman Will Butcher (Denver) while the Red Wings were killing off a penalty. Glendening then skated down the left side before letting go with a shot at Devils netminder Cory Schneider (Boston College). Schneider made the save, but the rebound was put home by Justin Abeldelkader (Michigan State) with 7:10 remaining in regulation to give the home team the lead for good in a 4-3 victory, Detroit's third straight triumph overall. New Jersey has lost five of its last six outings after winning its first four games this fall.

Schneider finished with 27 saves in his first NHL start since undergoing off-season hip surgery, which was followed by three rehabilitation appearances with Binghamton (AHL). Travis Zajac (North Dakota) posted two assists for the Devils on Thursday, including one on a second-period goal by Blake Coleman (Miami). Jimmy Howard (Maine) finished with 25 stops for Detroit, while Dylan Larkin (Michigan) set up two goals for the Red Wings.

The two teams will meet again on Nov. 18 in New Jersey.

Michigan Tri-Connection Powers Red Wings

Michigan State and Michigan combined with Western Michigan to make it the Detroit Red Wings’ night in Friday’s 4-0 home-opening victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Joe Louis Arena.

Justin Abdelkader (Michigan State) tallied a hat trick, while Larkin (Michigan) scored his first NHL goal and new head coach Jeff Blashill (Western Michigan) picked up his first NHL victory. Jimmy Howard (Maine) made 22 saves for the home team in helping spoil the homecoming of former Detroit head coach Mike Babcock, who led the Red Wings to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2008-09, including a championship the first year.

Detroit plays at Carolina tonight, while Toronto will host Ottawa.

U.S. Routed by Russia in World Championship Play

Team captain and Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader (Michigan State) scored the only goal for the United States in Monday's 6-1 loss to Russia in a preliminary round game in the 2014 IIHF World Championship at Minsk Arena in Belarus. The U.S. fell to 2-1 in the tournament, having earlier defeated host Belarus and Switzerland.

Former Spartan teammate Jeff Petry assisted on Abdelkader's goal, which came after Russia had built a 3-0 second-period lead. Florida Panthers netminder Tim Thomas (Vermont) took the loss with 10 saves on 15 shots, and was relieved just over halfway through the contest by David Leggio (Clarkson), who stopped seven of eight attempts.

The Americans return to action against Latvia on Thursday.

MSU's Abdelkader Scores for Red Wings in Winter Classic

On a day when Michigan State football would win its first Rose Bowl title in 26 years, a former Michigan State hockey player made a highlight of his own in the 2014 NHL Winter Classic before over 105,000 on-lookers at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Muskegon native Justin Abdelkader, who scored the game-winning goal that gave the Spartans the 2007 NCAA Division I men's hockey title, connected with 5:32 remaining in regulation for his home state Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday afternoon to pull them into a 2-2 tie at the time.

The Toronto Maple Leafs eventually won, 3-2, in a shootout. New Hampshire alumnus James van Riemsdyk tallied Toronto's first goal  in regulation in the second period to tie the game, 1-1.

Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard (Maine) finished with 24 saves on the same day he was named to the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team, along with NHL fellow netminders Ryan Miller (Michigan State) and Jonathan Quick (Massachusetts). The full U.S. Olympic men's roster, which includes more than 20 former NCAA players, can be found at NHL.com, while the U.S. Olympic women's roster can be found at USAHockey.com.

Michigan State defeated Stanford, 24-20, in Pasadena on Wednesday for its first Rose Bowl victory since 1988.