Three More NHL First Round Series Finished

The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is down to two series, after three others were decided Thursday night.

Toronto finished off host Ottawa, 4-2, to claim that series in six games. Max Pacioretty (Michigan) tallied the game-winning goal and also had an assist for the Maple Leafs, who had lost the last two games. Team captain Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) had one goal for the Senators, who were playing in the NHL postseason for the first time since 2017. Toronto will now take on defending Stanley Cup champion Florida in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Zach Hyman (Michigan) registered a goal and an assist for Edmonton as the Oilers topped Los Angeles, 6-4, to close out that series in six games. It marks the fourth year in a row that Edmonton has eliminated LA, which had won the first two games of this series, in the playoffs. 

Vegas finished off host Minnesota, 3-2, in the sixth and final game of that series. Jack Eichel (Boston University) notched a goal and an assist for the victorious Golden Knights, who will now face Edmonton in the Western Conference semifinals.

Colorado stayed alive with a 7-4 triumph over visiting Dallas. Cale Makar (Massachusetts) tallied three points and Brock Faber (North Dakota) had two assists for the Avalanche, who forced a winner-take-all Game Seven on Saturday night in Texas. Jake Oettinger (Boston University) finished with 41 saves for the Stars in defeat.

NCAA Alums on Move at 2025 NHL Trade Deadline

A number of former NCAA players were on the move before Friday's NHL trading deadline, as listed by last name (per Sportsnet.ca and hockeydb.com), for transactions occurring since March 1:

Player, Position (School) New Team Old Team

Brendan Brisson, F (Michigan) NY Rangers Vegas

Dennis Cholowski, D (St. Cloud) New Jersey NY Islanders

Charlie Coyle, F (Boston University) Colorado Boston

Vincent Desharnais, D (Providence) San Jose Pittsburgh

Brian Dumoulin, D (Boston College) New Jersey Anaheim

Michael Eyssimont, F (St. Cloud) Seattle Tampa Bay

Trent Frederic, F (Wisconsin) New Jersey      Edmonton

Dennis Gilbert, D (Notre Dame) Ottawa Buffalo

Patrick Giles, F (Boston College) San Jose Florida

Jonathan Gruden, F (Miami) New Jersey Pittsburgh

Mark Jankowski, F (Providence) Carolina Nashville

Erik Johnson, D (Minnesota) Colorado Philadelphia

Spencer Knight, G (Boston College) Chicago Florida

Luke Kunin, F (Wisconsin) Columbus San Jose

Ryan Lindgren, D (Minnesota) Colorado NY Rangers

Tyler Madden, F (Northeastern) Minnesota Los Angeles

Marc McLaughlin, F (Boston College) New Jersey Boston

Casey Mittelstadt, F (Minnesota) Boston Colorado

Brock Nelson, F (North Dakota) Colorado NY Islanders

Josh Norris, F (Michigan) Ottawa Buffalo

Thomas Novak, F (Minnesota) Pittsburgh Nashville

Gustav Nyquist, F (Maine) Minnesota Nashville

Craig Smith, F (Wisconsin) Detroit Chicago

Reilly Smith, F (Miami) Vegas NY Rangers

Carson Soucy, D (Minnesota-Duluth) NY Rangers Vancouver

Nico Sturm, F (Clarkson) Florida San Jose

Brandon Tanev, F (Providence) Winnipeg Seattle

Jimmy Vesey, F (Harvard) Colorado NY Rangers

Jake Walman, D (Providence) Edmonton San Jose

U.S Falls to Canada at Hlinka Gretzky Cup

The United States fell to rival Canada in a 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup semifinal contest last night in Edmonton. 

Sam Spehar, a 2026-27 University of Denver commit, tallied Team USA's lone goal, which cut Canada's lead to 2-1 at the time. 

The U.S., which went 2-1-0 in the preliminary round in Group B, will face Sweden in the bronze medal game today, while Canada will take on Czechia for gold.

ADDENDUM: Canada defeated Czechia, 2-1, while the U.S. fell to Sweden, 6-3.

Alberta's Berlin Makes NHL Debut in Relief

Matt Berlin (Alberta) got to see his NHL dream come true Saturday night.

The 6-foot-4 Edmonton native dressed for his hometown Oilers that evening as an emergency goaltender, replacing an ill Stuart Skinner. He played the last 2:26 of regulation, stopping the only shot he faced in Edmonton's 7-3 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.

Berlin, 25, is in his third campaign with the University of Alberta, where he has fashioned a 4-0-1 mark with a 2.57 goals-against average in five appearances so far this season. In 21 career contests with the Golden Bears, he has gone 14-5-1 with a 2.09 GAA and three shutouts.

Prior to suiting up for Alberta, Berlin went 28-9-1 (2.57, 2 SO) in the 2018-19 season with Sherwood Park (AJHL). He spent parts of the previous three seasons in the WHL with Spokane, Seattle and Kootenay, going 23-18-8 (3.40, 2 SO) in 57 games. He was also part of Seattle's 2016-17 squad that won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL postseason champions, which also earned the Thunderbirds a berth in the Memorial Cup that season.

Canada Wins 2022 WJC Title in OT

Kent Johnson (Michigan) got the golden goal for Canada. 

Johnson, 19, an assistant captain for Canada, put home own rebound just over three minutes into 3-on-3 play in overtime to lift Canada to a 3-2 victory and the gold medal at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship at Rogers Place in Edmonton. 

Johnson's game-winning goal came shortly after Finland had nearly scored the winner at the other end, but the puck was knocked out of the air and away from the Canadian goal line. Finland had to settle for the silver medal, its first in WJC play since 2001, after last winning gold in 2019. Sweden defeated Czechia, 3-1, earlier in the day to win the bronze medal.

Finland outshot Canada, 30-29, on the evening. It also weathered six Canadian power plays, including five in a row at one point, and scored two third-period goals to tie the contest after trailing, 2-0, after 40 minutes of regulation. 

It was Canada's second WJC title in three years, after it fell to the U.S. in the 2021 gold-medal game, which was also held in Edmonton. Canada added to its record haul with its 19th WJC title overall since the tournament officially began in 1977.

Johnson finished the WJC, which had been postponed and rescheduled from December due to COVID/Omicron concerns, with three goals and six assists for nine points in seven games, while leading all WJC participants with 43 shots on goal. He turned pro earlier this year after completing his second and final season at Michigan, where he helped the Wolverines to the 2022 Big Ten tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four. In two seasons in Ann Arbor, he tallied 17-47—64 points, then recorded three assists in his first nine NHL games this spring with Columbus, which drafted him fifth overall in 2021.

Next year's WJC will again be held in Canada, in Halifax and Moncton, starting in late December before carrying over into January.

U.S. Eliminated at 2022 World Juniors

The United States will not repeat as IIHF World Junior champions. 

Following four wins in four preliminary group-play games, Team USA fell to the Czech Republic (Czechia), 4-2, in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday night in Edmonton, and was eliminated from medal contention.

Logan Cooley (Minnesota) and Carter Mazur (Denver) scored for the Americans, but three Czech goals in-between which spanned the first and second period proved to be the difference. The U.S. also had to kill off two five-minute power plays in the third period, while trailing by two goals at the time. 

Czechia finally iced the contest on an empty-net tally with 32 seconds remaining in regulation, after U.S. goaltender Kaidan Mbereko (Colorado College) had been pulled for an extra attacker. Mbereko finished with 20 saves on the night.

Team USA, which had outscored its opposition by a 22-4 margin through its first four games, was seeking to win consecutive WJC gold medals for the first time ever, having claimed gold in 2021 in Edmonton. The Czechs will now play host Canada, a 6-1 winner over Switzerland last night, in the semifinals.

Team USA Wins First Two at Rescheduled World Juniors

The United States National Junior Team is off to a solid start at the revamped 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton. Team USA defeated Germany, 5-1, in its opening game, and then pasted Switzerland, 7-1, in its next outing.

Luke Hughes (Michigan) leads all defensemen in the tournament, and is fifth overall among all skaters so far, with five points through two games, on a goal and four assists. Mbereko Kaidan (Colorado College) is 2-0-0 in net for the Americans, with a 1.00 goals-against average and .943 save percentage to date. 

This month's tournament (Aug. 9-20) replaces the original event that was canceled shortly after it began in December, due to COVID-19/Omicron variant concerns. The U.S. won the last World Junior championship that was played to completion in 2020, which was also held in Canada.

The U.S. will now face Switzerland in in its next contest today (2 p.m. ET, NHL Network), before meeting Sweden on Sunday night to close out the preliminary round.

ADDENDUM: After routing the Swiss by a 7-1 count, Team USA held on to defeat Sweden, 3-2, to finish with a 4-0-0 record in group play. Matthew Coronato (Harvard) scored two goals, including the game-winner, for the Americans, who will now face Czechia in a quarterfinal contest on Aug. 17.

2022 World Junior Championship Canceled

The remainder of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in Alberta, Canada has been cancelled due to COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, following the third game forfeiture in the past two days. 

The 10-team WJC was scheduled to run through Jan. 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer. Participating this year were Austria, host Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

It is the first time in 44 years, according to sportsnet.ca, that the world's premiere men's hockey under-20 tournament will not crown a champion. The U.S. won last year's event in Edmonton, besting Canada by a 2-0 score in the gold medal game.

U.S. Wins 2021 WJC Title

Alex Turcotte (Wisconsin) deflected home a shot midway through the first period tonight, and Trevor Zegras (Boston University) put in a rebound early in the second stanza to lift the United States to a 2-0 win over host Canada in the gold medal game of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton, Alberta.

Spencer Knight (Boston College) finished with 34 saves for the Americans in recording his third shutout of the tournament, and earned U.S. Player of the Game accolades. Zegras, who also assisted on Turcotte's goal, finished as the event's top scorer with seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points, and was named tournament MVP as the U.S. won its first WJC title since 2017, and fifth overall.

Team USA was guided this year by head coach Nate Leaman (Providence), who became the third American head coach to win a WJC gold medal and an NCAA championship in his career. 

Other NCAA-trained members of this year's USA title team included Matthew Boldy (Boston College), Matthew Beniers (Michigan), Brett Berard (Providence), Bobby Brink (Denver), Brendan Brisson (Michigan), Cole Caufield (Wisconsin), Sam Colangelo (Northeastern), Brock Faber (Minnesota), John Farinacci (Harvard), Drew Helleson (Boston College), Ryan Johnson (Minnesota), Tyler Kleven (North Dakota), Jackson LaCombe (Minnesota), Patrick Moynihan (Providence), Jake Sanderson (North Dakota), Landon Slaggert (Notre Dame), Logan Stein (Ferris State), Henry Thrun (Harvard) and team captain Cameron York (Michigan). 

Devon Levi (Northeastern) made 19 stops for 2020 champion Canada, which had outscored its WJC opponents this year by a 41-4 count prior to the gold medal game. Also on Canada's roster with NCAA experience were Alex Newhook (Boston College) and Dylan Holloway (Wisconsin).

Finland, the 2019 WJC champion, defeated Russia, 4-1, earlier on Tuesday in the bronze medal game to place third this year. Canada will host next year's event in both Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.

U.S. Shuts Out Sweden to Win Group B

The U.S. National Junior Team set itself up for Saturday's quarterfinal round with its third straight shutout at the IIHF 2021 World Junior Championship in Edmonton, Alberta. The Americans blanked Sweden, 4-0, on New Year's Eve to finish first in Group B and also complete the round robin portion of the event with three regulation wins and a loss.

Trevor Zegras (Boston University) scored once and tallied two assists against Sweden, while Alex Turcotte and Ryan Johnson (Minnesota) notched the other U.S goals. Spencer Knight (Boston College) turned aside all 27 shots he faced for his second straight WJC shutout, as the Americans closed out the calendar year with three consecutive victories in the tournament. The U.S outshot Sweden, 37-27, and has now outscored its opposition, 22-0, in its last three WJC outings after beginning the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Russia on Christmas night.

Team USA will now face Slovakia on Saturday night (10:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network).

U.S. Blanks Czechs, 7-0, in WJC Action

Trevor Zegras (Boston University) scored two goals and set up three others as the U.S. National Junior Team blanked the Czech Republic, 7-0, in 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship action in Edmonton, Alberta this afternoon. The win also clinched a quarterfinal round berth for Team USA, in a game to be played on Jan. 2 against an as-yet undecided opponent.

Bobby Brink (Denver) scored twice for Team USA in the rout, including the game-winner that opened the scoring in a three-goal U.S. second period, while Cam York (Michigan) tallied three assists on the day. Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) scored one goal and assisted on another for the Americans, while Matthew Boldy (Boston College) notched his fourth goal in two games. Three of the U.S goals came on power plays.

The victory (and shutout) was the second straight for the United States in this year's WJC, following a tournament-opening loss to Russia on Christmas Day. Spencer Knight (Boston College), who took the loss in net in that contest, earned the win today by stopping all 22 Czech shots. The U.S. had blanked Austria, 11-0, in its second game of the tournament.

Team USA will close out the round-robin portion of Group B play at the WJC against Sweden on Thursday night (9:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network).

USA Blanks Austria at WJC for First Win

Following a 5-3 opening game loss to Russia on Christmas, the United States rebounded tonight for a 11-0 victory over Austria in Group B play at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton. 

Matthew Boldy (Boston College) paced the U.S. with three goals, while Alex Turcotte (Wisconsin) set up three goals and Trevor Zegras (Boston University) had two goals and two assists as Team USA outshot Austria, 73-10. Spencer Knight (Boston College) sat out Sunday's game in net, after absorbing the loss against Russia by surrendering four goals on 12 shots against that night.

The U.S. will return to EJC action on Tuesday against the Czech Republic, a 2-0 winner over Russia tonight.

Goodnight, USA

The goal of medaling three straight years in the World Junior Championship is over for the United States.

A 5-2 loss to the Czech Republic in Edmonton yesterday left the U.S with one win and two losses in three group games in the 2012 IIHF U20 WJC. Coupled with Finland's 9-1 win over Denmark last night, the Americans have been eliminated from medal contention.

T.J. Tynan (Notre Dame) and Bill Arnold (Boston College) scored power-play goals for the U.S., which saw Czech goaltender Petr Mrazek make 52 saves, including a penalty-shot attempt by Josh Archibald in the third period. The Czechs then scored three unanswered goals to break a 2-2 tie, with Petr Holik getting the game-winner off a rebound with 7:34 remaining in regulation time. Jack Campbell made 24 saves for the U.S. in defeat.

The U.S. faces Canada tonight at Rexall Place in its final preliminary-round contest to close out the 2011 calendar year.

ADDENDUM: Despite 32 saves by Campbell, and third-period goals by Charlie Coyle and Jason Zucker (Denver), the U.S. fell to Canada, 3-2.

Gibson, U.S. Falter in Loss to Finland

And to think John Gibson could have been suiting up for the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit this week instead.

The Pittsburgh-born goaltender, who spurned Michigan earlier this year to play major junior hockey with Kitchener (OHL) instead, made his World Junior Championship debut against Finland on Wednesday night in Edmonton. It’s very likely he won’t want to remember this one.

Gibson, 18, surrendered three third-period goals in a 4-1 loss at Rexall Place that left the U.S. with a win and a loss in WJC play, and an absolute must-win situation against the Czech Republic on Friday afternoon. Finland rebounded from an 8-1 loss to host Canada on Monday, the same day that the Americans had pounded Denmark, 11-3, to open the tournament.

The beginning of the end for both Gibson and the U.S. against Finland happened when he took an interference penalty midway through the third period with the score tied, 1-1, and the Americans on a power play at the time. Finland proceeded to tally three unanswered goals, including two that Gibson, who was drafted 39th overall by Anaheim (NHL) this year, had at least a chance of stopping.

Joel Armia fanned on a semi-breakaway with 9:07 remaining in regulation, but the puck slid between a sprawling Gibson’s pads and into the net to give Finland the lead for good. Just 19 seconds later, Mikael Granlund’s shot from the right side deflected off Jon Merrill’s skate and inside the far post to make it a 3-1 affair.

Armia then closed out the scoring with 3:33 left when he evaded Gibson’s poke-check attempt and put the puck home to complete Finland’s first U20 win against the U.S. in six years. The U.S. outshot Finland, 39-27, but couldn’t get anything more than an early third-period shot by Brandon Saad past Finnish goaltender Sami Aittokalli.

Canada later defeated the Czech Republic, 5-0, on Wednesday night for its second WJC win in two games. The U.S. and Canada are scheduled to meet on Saturday night in Edmonton in the final group game for both teams.