U.S. Men Edge Sweden to Reach Semis

Two former Michigan Wolverines made it Team USA's night.

Dylan Larkin (Michigan) scored the first goal of the game in the second period, and Quinn Hughes (Michigan) wristed home a shot early in overtime to lift the United States over Sweden, 2-1, in a men's ice hockey quarterfinal matchup at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy.

Hughes helped set up Larkin's deflection goal midway through regulation to open the scoring. After Sweden tied the contest on an extra attacker goal with less than 90 seconds remaining in regulation, Hughes won it just over three minutes into the 3-on-3 extra session with a shot from the slot after taking a pass from Matt Boldy (Boston College). Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) finished with 28 saves in the American net.

The U.S. now moves on to face Slovakia in one semifinal on Friday, while Finland will take on Canada in the other one. Canada outlasted Czechia, 4-3, in OT in the quarterfinals thanks to a goal and two assists from Macklin Celebrini (Boston University).

ADDENDUM: Team USA routed Slovakia, 6-2, and will face Canada, a 3-2 winner over Finland, in Sunday's gold medal game.

Detroit Downs Devils, 5-2

The Detroit Red Wings extended their winning streak to three games with a 5-2 victory at New Jersey last night. The Red Wings win the season series, two games to one.

Detroit's Dylan Larkin (Michigan) scored his 30th goal of the season, which turned out to be the game-winner, and added an assist. He has now scored at least 30 goals in four straight seasons. J.T. Compher (Michigan) also scored for the Red Wings, while Alex Lyon (Yale) made 28 saves. Erik Haula (Minnesota) notched a goal and an assist for the host Devils, with Seamus Casey (Michigan) assisting on Haula's goal. Devils defenseman Brian Dumoulin (Boston College) logged a game-high time on ice of 26:17 before a crowd of 16,514 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The Devils, who will face Carolina in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, closed out their regular season with a 42-33-7 overall record, and finished third in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division. The Red Wings (39-35-7), who have been eliminated from NHL postseason consideration for the ninth consecutive year, will close out their 2024-25 campaign tonight at Toronto.

U.S. To Face Canada for Four Nations Crown

The first-ever Four Nations Face-Off final is set. It will be the United States against Canada at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

The final matchup was set when Canada held on to defeat Finland, 5-3, this afternoon before Sweden edged the U.S., 2-1, this evening, both in Boston. Chris Kreider (Boston College) scored the lone goal for the Americans, while Jake Oettinger (Boston University) finished with 21 saves for Team USA. Gustav Nyquist (Maine) notched Sweden's first goal.

Thursday will be a rematch of Saturday's 3-1 U.S. win in Montreal. Jake Guentzel (Omaha) scored twice for the Team USA, while Dylan Larkin (Michigan) scored one goal and set up another, and Connor Hellbuyck (UMass Lowell) made 25 stops in net. Sweden took third place overall by virtue of today's regulation win over the Americans, while Finland finished fourth with one overtime win and two regulation losses.

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.

Larkin Re-Signs, Berenson Earns Latest Honor

Two former University of Michigan players made headlines over the weekend—one an up-and-comer, and the other a living legend.

Dylan Larkin, who played one season with the Wolverines before turning pro, has signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings. A restricted free agent, Larkin, 22, will receive an average of $6.1 million per season, according to NHL.com. Drafted 15th overall by Detroit in 2014, the Waterford, Mich. native has notched 56 goals and 84 assists for 140 points in 242 regular-season appearances over three full NHL campaigns, all with Detroit. He registered 15-32—47 points in 35 outings with U-M in 2014-15, his lone year in Ann Arbor and the inaugural season of the current Big Ten Conference.

Longtime Michigan head coach Gordon "Red" Berenson, who manned the Wolverines for 33 seasons and also won two NCAA Division I titles at the U-M helm, will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in December. The Regina, Sask. native starred at Michigan as a forward before going on to play in the NHL from 1962 to 1978. He later coached the St. Louis Blues for three seasons.

Berenson guided his alma mater from 1984 to 2017, and recorded an 848-426-92 overall mark with the Wolverines while winning national titles in both 1996 and 1998. He also led the Maize and Blue to 10 Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season championships, nine CCHA Tournament crowns, one Big Ten tournament title, and 22 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 1991 to 2012.

Also, in late July, Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes announced he will return to U-M for his sophomore season. Drafted seventh overall by the Vancouver Canucks in June, the Orlando, Fla. native earned 2017-18 Big Ten All-Freshman Team accolades in collecting 5-24—29 points in 37 games as a rookie, while also helping the Wolverines to the NCAA Frozen Four.

U.S. Wins First Two at World Championship

The United States is off to a good start at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark, winning its first two games in Group “B” round-robin play.

The Americans opened the tournament on Friday by besting rival Canada, 5-4, in a shootout. Cam Atkinson (Boston College) of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets scored twice in the extra session, including the deciding shootout goal.

Dylan Larkin (Michigan) of the Detroit Red Wings recorded two goals in regulation for the U.S. against the Canadians, with Chris Kreider (Boston College) of the New York Rangers setting up both of Larkin’s tallies. Anders Lee (Notre Dame) of the New York Islanders and Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) of the Calgary Flames also scored for Team USA in regulation. Keith Kinkaid (Union) of the New Jersey Devils stopped 40 shots in net, and then made five saves on six shootout attempts for the win. Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) of the St. Louis Blues scored for Canada in regulation.

The U.S. then blanked host Denmark, 4-0, on Saturday. Will Butcher (Denver) of the New Jersey Devils collected the game-winning goal in the first period, before Kreider and Atkinson connected in the second stanza. Nick Jensen (St. Cloud State) of the Detroit Red Wings then closed out the scoring in the third period, and also joined Kreider and Gaudreau in recording an assist on the day. Kinkaid finished with 20 stops for the shutout.

Team USA will face Germany on Monday in its next outing, before taking on Latvia on May 10 and Korea on May 11.

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.

Larkin Leaves Michigan, Signs with Red Wings

University of Michigan freshman forward Dylan Larkin has played his final game for the Wolverines. The Waterford, Mich. native has signed a three-year contract with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, who drafted him 15th overall last year.

Larkin, a 6-foot-1, 192-pound center, finished second on the U-M scoring scroll, and second in both Big Ten scoring last season, with 15 goals and 32 assists for 47 points in 35 games. He posted 13 multiple-point outings, including a five-point contest and a pair of four-point matches, and also put up four three-assist performances, according to his profile at USCHO.com.

He led all Big Ten rookies in scoring, and earned First Team All-Big Ten and Second Team All-America accolades. He also played for the U.S. at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships in Canada over the Christmas break, tallying a team-high five goals and seven points.

Larkin, 18, played his final collegiate game in a 4-2 loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament on March 21, after being named Big Ten Rookie of the Year, according to mlive.com.

Larkin won a bronze medal earlier this month while playing with the pro-laden U.S. squad at the 2015 IIHF World Championships in the Czech Republic, notching an assist while appearing in all 10 games. He is expected to report immediately to Grand Rapids (AHL) for its Western Conference final series with Utica that begins Sunday, via College Hockey News.

U.S. Falls to Canada at WJC

Dylan Larkin (Michgan) scored twice and Thatcher Demko (Boston College) made 40 saves, but Team USA fell to Canada, 5-3, to conclude round-robin play at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship on Wednesday in Montreal.

Canada, which scored two empty-net goals, finished four points ahead of the Americans, who suffered their first loss of the tournament, to claim Group A. The U.S. was outshot, 43-28, and never held a lead, while each team scored a power-play goal.Anthony DeAngelo scored Team USA's first goal of the afternoon, which came on a man advantage.

The U.S. will now face Russia in a WJC quarterfinal match at the Bell Centre on Friday at 1 p.m. (NHL Network, NHL.com). Russia is coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Czech Republic.

Happy New Year!

U.S. Shuts Out Slovakia at WJC

Sonny Milano broke a scoreless tie late in the second period, and Thatcher Demko (Boston College) made 17 saves as Team USA remained unbeaten with a 3-0 win over Slovakia on Monday at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship in Montreal.

Dylan Larkin (Michigan) and John Hayden (Yale) added third-period goals as the U.S. outshot Slovakia, 45-17. Larkin, who also assisted on Milano's goal, leads Team USA with three goals and two assists for five points in three games, and is also the second-leading scorer so far in the tournament.

The Americans, who have outscored their three opponents, 10-1, in regulation so far, also improved to 2-1-0 (includes shootout win) and remained a point behind Canada in Group A play. The two North American rivals will close out the round-robin portion of their WJC schedules when they face off at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Bell Centre (NHL Network, NHL.com).

U.S. Blanks Germany at WJC

Dylan Larkin (Michigan) scored two goals and set up another as Team USA posted a 6-0 shutout of Germany on Sunday night in Montreal in its second game of the 2015 World Junior Championship.

Auston Matthews, Hudson Fasching (Minnesota), Sonny Milano, and Jack Eichel (Boston University) also scored for the U.S., which got 14 saves from Brandon Halverson in his WJC debut. The U.S., which outshot Germany, 53-14, is in second place in Group A, one point behind Canada.

The Americans will now take on Slovakia today at 4 p.m. at the Bell Centre (NHL Network, NHL.com).