Michigan State Tops Wisconsin, 4-3

Charlie Stramel scored the game-winning goal in the second period, and also had an assist as fourth-ranked Michigan State edged No. 2 Wisconsin, 4-3, tonight at the Kohl Center. It was MSU's first victory against Wisconsin this season, after the Badgers swept a two-game series in East Lansing, Mich., back in November. All three games have been decided by one goal.

Ryker Lee, Gavin O'Connell and Daniel Russell also scored for the victorious Spartans (16-5-0 overall, 7-4-0 Big Ten), who got 24 saves in net from Trey Augustine. Oliver Tulk, Kyle Kukkonen and Tyson Dyck scored the host Badgers (15-4-2 8-3-0), who got 19 stops from Daniel Hauser. The Spartans outshot the Badgers, 27-23, on the evening, while the two teams combined to go 0-for-5 on the power play.

MSU and Wisconsin will close out their 2025-26 season series on Friday night in Madison.

ADDENDUM: MSU finished off the two-step sweep with a 4-1 victory in Game Two. 

U.S. Ousted at 2026 World Juniors

There will be no three-peat for the United States at this year's World Junior Championship. The U.S. was ousted tonight by Finland, 4-3, in overtime in a semifinal game in St. Paul. It was the second straight loss for the Americans, who also fell to Sweden, 6-3, on New Year's Eve in their final game of group play.

Ryker Lee (Michigan State) tied the contest late in regulation after Finland had taken a 3-2 lead on back-to-back goals. Cole Eiserman (Boston University) and Cole Hutson (Boston University) scored second-period goals for Team USA, which also got two assists from James Hagens (Boston College), and 21 saves in net from Nick Kempf (Notre Dame). Heikki Ruohonen (Harvard) scored a goal for Finland, which fell to the U.S. in last year's final in OT in Ottawa.

Finland will now face Sweden in one WJC semifinal, while Canada will take on Czechia in the other, both on Sunday. The bronze and gold medal games are scheduled for Monday.

ADDENDUM: Sweden won the gold medal over Czechia, while Canada took the bronze.

Butcher Scores for Devils in NHL Return

Will Butcher (Denver) hadn't played an NHL game in almost a year. On Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, he made his 2020-21 debut with a goal in the New Jersey Devils' 5-2 triumph over the host New York Rangers.

Butcher's second period goal, a shot from the left corner that deflected in off of New York defenseman Jacob Trouba (Michigan), gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at the time. After the Rangers rebounded to tie the game just before intermission, New Jersey tallied three unanswered goals in the third period for the win. 

It was the Devils' first game in nearly three weeks, after the organization was shut down by COVID-19 concerns. Butcher, who led DU to the 2017 NCAA title on defense while also winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award himself that year, now has 14 goals in his NHL career. he had been out of the Devils lineup since February 2020 after injuring his thumb and requiring surgery.

In Buffalo, Anders Lee (Notre Dame), captain of the New York Islanders, scored two goals, the game-winner and also an empty-netter, in New York's 3-0 victory over the host Sabres. Lee, who skated for the Fighting Irish from 2010 to 2013, now has seven goals and 10 points in 15 outings so far this season for the Islanders.

U.S. Claims Bronze at 2018 World Championship

The United States earned its second bronze medal in four years at the IIHF World Championship with a 4-1 victory over Canada on Sunday in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Chris Kreider (Boston College) of the New York Rangers scored two goals for the Americans, including the game-opening goal in the second period, while Nick Bonino (Boston University) of the Nashville Predators tallied the game-winning goal with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 tie. Anders Lee (Notre Dame) of the New York Islanders then scored an insurance goal into an empty Canadian net for the U.S., followed by one from Kreider.

Keith Kincaid (Union) of the New Jersey Devils made 24 stops to garner the victory for Team USA, which earned bronze for the third time in the last six World Championships, and for the eighth time overall.

Sweden, which defeated Canada in a shootout in last year's World Championship gold medal game in Germany, won it all again today in a shootout. The Swedes bested Switzerland this time, by a 3-2 count, to claim their second straight World Championship title, and 11th overall.

Next year's tournament will be held in May 2019 in Slovakia.