Finland won its fifth gold medal ever at the IIHF World Championship, defeating host Switzerland on Sunday by a 1-0 count in overtime. Norway took bronze with a 3-2 OT win over Canada.
Canada's Macklin Celebrini (Boston University) finished second among all scorers with 14 points on six goals and eight assists in 10 games. Devin Cooley (Denver) of the United States was fourth among all goaltenders with a 1.76 goals-against average over seven outings.
Yale University has turned to one of its own behind the bench, as former Bulldog forward Jeff Hamilton has been named as the Ivy League school's new men's hockey head coach. He succeeds Joe Howe, who served as interim head coach last year following the retirement of longtime head coach and Yale alumnus Keith Allain.
Hamilton, 48, returns to Yale after coaching with the Connecticut Jr. Rangers and Mid Fairfield Rangers programs from 2017 to 2024. He is also the owner of 203 Sports Group, a youth athletic development group.
A native of Englewood, Ohio, Hamilton was a three-time 20-goal scorer at Yale after prepping at Avon Old Farms. In 127 career collegiate games with the Bulldogs from 1996 to 2001, he tallied 80 goals and 94 assists for 174 points, and earned All-America accolades three times. He also led Yale to an ECAC regular-season title and an NCAA tournament berth in 1998, was a two-time Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist, and remains the top scorer in school history.
An undrafted free agent, Hamilton went on to play in 157 NHL regular-season games with the New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs from 2003 to 2009, collecting 32-45—77 points. He also recorded 131-139—270 points in 292 American Hockey League regular-season appearances with Bridgeport, Hartford, and Albany, and also played professionally in Finland, Russia and Switzerland while earning a bronze medal with the United States at the 2004 IIHF World Championship.
Will Zellers (North Dakota) scored two goals and set up another, and Cole Hutson (Boston University) tallied two assists as the host United States defeated Germany, 6-3, tonight in its opener of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in St. Paul, Minn. The U.S., which has won the last two WJC gold medals, will next face off tomorrow with Switzerland, which will be playing in its first game of the tournament.
In the nightcap in Minneapolis, Canada outlasted Czechia, 7-5, by scoring four times in the third period. Michael Hage (Michigan) notched a goal and two assists for the Canadians, who also got two assists from Gavin McKenna (Penn State) and an empty-net goal from Porter Martone (Michigan State). Canada will next face Latvia on Saturday.
ADDENDUM: Team USA edged Switzerland, 2-1, on a goal by Zellers, while Canada topped Latvia by the same score on an overtime goal from Hage.
Jacob Fowler (Boston College) stopped 36 shots in his NHL debut on Thursday night to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh. He blanked the host Penguins for just over two periods before surrendering a goal.
Fowler, 21, joined the Montreal organization after two seasons at BC, where he backstopped the Eagles to two NCAA tournaments, including the 2024 national title game. In 74 career outings at the Heights, he fashioned a 57-13-3 record with a 1.90 goals-against average and 10 shutouts, while twice earning First Team All-America and Hockey East First All-star Team accolades. He also won the Mike Richter Award as college hockey's top goalie last year, and helped the United States to a gold medal at the 2024 World Junior Championship.
Three former NCAA players have been chosen as part of the Class of 2025 for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Tara Mounsey (Brown), Zach Parise (North Dakota) and Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) will all be inducted into the hall in Eveleth, Minn. on Dec. 10.
Mounsey, a member of the 1998 United States national team that won the first-ever gold medal in Olympic women's hockey, patrolled the blueline at Brown University from 1996 to 2000, notching 14 goals and 10 assists for 24 points in her third and final collegiate campaign, and tallied 48-22—70 points overall in her college career. A three-time All-Ivy First Time selection, and a two-time All-America and First Team All-ECAC choice, she also helped the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and two silvers at the IIHF Women's World Championship. Brown's Best Defensive Player Award, which she co-earned in 2000, has been renamed for her. Mounsey also played two years of field hockey at Brown, where she finished as the program’s all-time leader with 36 goals and 87 points.
Parise collected 434-455—889 points in 19 National Hockey League campaigns as a forward with New Jersey, Minnesota the New York Islanders and Colorado. He also collected 39-44—83 points in 122 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, and helped New Jersey, which drafted him 17th overall in 2003, to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. In two years at the University of North Dakota, he registered 49-67—116 points in 76 NCAA outings and was a two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist, plus a First Team All-America selection as a sophomore. He also represented the U.S. on numerous international occasions, earning gold at the 2002 IIHF U-18 Under World Junior Championship and the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championship, and silver at the 2010 Olympics.
Pavelski tallied 476 goals and 592 assists for 1,068 points over 18 NHL seasons at forward with San Jose and Dallas. He also added 74-69—143 points in 201 Stanley Cup Playoff outings, establishing a postseason record for the most career goals scored by an American, while also playing in two Stanley Cup Finals. Drafted in the 7th round (205th overall) by San Jose in 2004, he skated two NCAA seasons with the University of Wisconsin, recording 39-62—101 points overall in 84 contests while leading the Badgers to the 2006 national title. In international play, he skated in two Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal with the U.S. in 2010, while serving as captain of Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Tage Thompson (UConn) scored just over two minutes into 3-on-3 overtime to lift the United States to a 1-0 victory over Switzerland today in the 2025 IIHF World Championship gold medal game in Stockholm, Sweden. It is the first men's World's gold for the U.S. since 1933, while the Swiss finished second for the fourth time overall.
Logan Cooley (Minnesota) and Brady Skjei (Minnesota) assisted on Thompson's goal, while Jeremy Swayman (Maine) stopped 25 shots in net for Team USA. Sweden took third this year by defeating Denmark in the bronze medal game, while Canada, Czechia, Finland and Austria rounded out the top eight. Next year's tournament will be held in Switzerland.
Arizona State commit Ben Kevan scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the United States to a 4-3 victory over Slovakia in the 2025 IIHF U-18 Men's World Championship bronze medal game yesterday in Frisco, Texas.
Will Moore, a Boston College commit who led all U.S. skaters in the tournament with three goals and eight assists for 11 points, posted three assists against Slovakia. Notre Dame commit Patrick Quinlan made 23 saves in goal in the victory, and finished with a 4-1 record in the tournament.
Canada won U-18 gold for the second straight season, blanking Sweden by a 7-0 count in the title contest.
Longtime NHL defenseman Alec Martinez (Miami) announced his retirement as an active player over the weekend. He made his final appearance on April 12 in the Chicago Blackhawks' 5-4 shootout loss to Winnipeg, recording two shots on goal and two blocked shots in almost 18 minutes of ice time.
Martinez, 37, from Rochester Hills, Mich., was drafted 95th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2007. In 862 career NHL regular-season games over 16 seasons with Los Angeles, Vegas and Chicago, he recorded 88 goals and 201 assists for 289 points to go with 250 penalty minutes. According to statmuse.com, he ranks 16th all-time among NHL skaters with 1,884 shots blocked, while also recording 16 game-winning goals and a plus-73 plus-minus rating.
In 131 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests, Martinez added 14-23—37 points and 47 PIM while winning three Cups in all, two with LA and one with Vegas, and also scored the Cup-clinching in overtime with the Kings in 2014. He also played in 150 career minor-league regular-season games, 147 of them in the AHL, along with 11 games for TPS (Finland) in 2012-13. In addition, he skated for the United States in the 2018 and 2019 IIHF World Championships, winning a bronze medal the first year.
A product of Stoney Creek (Mich.) High School and the Detroit-area Honeybaked AAA youth program, Martinez played at Miami from 2005 to 2008 after winning the USHL's Clark Cup with Cedar Rapids in 2004-05. In 123 career outings with the Red Hawks, he tallied 21-46—67 points and 113 PIM while helping Miami to 83 wins overall, three NCAA tournament berths and one CCHA regular-season crown. He also earned Second Team All-America accolades in his final season in Oxford, Oh.
The inaugural Four Nations Face-Off gets underway starting Wednesday.
Following are the former NCAA players, all of whom are current NHL skaters, on each of the four rosters (Player, Position, NHL Team, School):
United States
Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets (UMass Lowell)
Jake Oettinger, G, Dallas Stars (Boston University)
Jeremy Swayman, G, Boston Bruins (Maine)
Brock Faber, D, Minnesota Wild (Minnesota)
Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers (Harvard)
Noah Hanifin, D, Vegas Golden Knights (Boston College)
Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins (Boston University)
Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets (Michigan)
Jake Sanderson, D, Ottawa Senators (North Dakota)
Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina Hurricanes (Colorado College)
Matt Boldy, F, Minnesota Wild (Boston College)
Kyle Connor, F, Winnipeg Jets (Michigan)
Jack Eichel, F, Vegas Golden Knights (Boston University)
Jake Guentzel, F, Tampa Bay Lightning (Omaha)
Chris Kreider, F, New York Rangers (Boston College)
Dylan Larkin, F, Detroit Red Wings (Michigan)
Brock Nelson, F, New York Islanders (North Dakota)
Brady Tkachuk, F, Ottawa Senators (Boston University)
Canada
Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche (Massachusetts)
Colton Parayko, D, St. Louis Blues (Alaska Fairbanks)
Devon Toews, D, Colorado Avalanche (Quinnipiac)
Sweden
Gustav Nyquist, F, Nashville Predators (Maine)
Finland
Erik Haula, F, New Jersey Devils (Minnesota)
***
In all, 16 different NHL teams and 15 NCAA schools will be represented in the event. Lists do not include players who were chosen to participate but who will not, due to injury or other issues.
The tournament, which will temporarily replace the NHL All-Star Game, will run through Feb. 20, and will be contested in both Boston and Montreal.
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.
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.
Team USA finished the round robin portion of the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia with a 6-3 win over Latvia on Tuesday. The U.S. eliminated Latvia from this year's medal competition. and also avenged the Americans' overtime loss to Latvia in last year's bronze medal game.
Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) scored two goals and set up two others to lead America, while Shane Pinto (North Dakota) had two assists. Matt Boldy (Boston College), Zach Werenski (Michigan) and Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) provided a goal and an assist apiece, while Charlie Lindgren (St. Cloud State) stopped 27 of 30 Latvian shots on goal. Eduards Tralmaks (Maine) scored one of Latvia's three goals.
The U.S., which finished second in Group B, will now face host Czechia on Thursday in the quarterfinal round.
The United States regained its winning ways late this week at the 2024 IIHF Men's World Championship in Czechia. Following a 5-4 overtime loss to Slovakia on May 13, the Americans rebounded for a 5-0 shutout of France on Thursday, followed by a 4-1 victory over Poland on Friday.
Matt Boldy (Boston College) scored two goals and set up another for the U.S. versus France, while Brock Nelson (North Dakota) tallied a goal and two assists. Against Poland, Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) led the way with a goal and three assists, as Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) scored twice, Shane Pinto (North Dakota) assisted on a pair of goals, and Trey Augustine (Michigan State) stopped 20 of 21 shots against.
Team USA will return to Group B action on Sunday against Kazakhstan.
ADDENDUM: The U.S routed Kazakhstan, 10-1, as Boldy notched two goals and three assists, Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) recorded a goal and four assists, Tkachuk tallied three goals and an assist, and Zach Werenski (Michigan) set up three goals.
The United States got behind the proverbial eight-ball on its first day of competition at the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia on Friday. The U.S. fell to Sweden by a 5-2 count at Ostrava Arena in the opener of Group B play for both teams.
Zach Werenski (Michigan) and Brock Nelson (North Dakota) scored goals for the Americans, who got 33 saves in net from Alex Lyon (Yale). Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) and Matt Boldy (Boston College) picked up assists for the U.S., which will return to action today against Germany, while Sweden will face Poland on Sunday.
Canada, which boasts almost a half-dozen former NCAA skaters on its roster, begins play today against Great Britain in Group A round-robin competition. The Canadians won last year's Worlds in Riga/Latvia, with Germany claiming the silver medal and co-host Latvia earning bronze. The U.S. finished fourth in 2023.
ADDENDUM: The U.S. rebounded for a 6-1 win over Germany, getting goals from six different scorers. Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) and Michael Kesselring (Northeastern) tallied a goal and an assist apiece for the Americans, who also got two assists each from Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) and Shane Pinto (North Dakota). Trey Augustine (Michigan State) made 12 saves on 13 shots in relief of Lyon (14 saves).
Danielle Serdachny (Colgate) scored on the power play just over five minutes into overtime Sunday night, to lift Canada over the rival United States, 6-5, in the gold medal game of the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship in Utica, N.Y. The victory marked a record 13th WWC title for Canada, while the host U.S. was seeking its 11th such crown since the tournament began back in 1990.
Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin) tied the contest at five apiece on her goal with just over five minutes remaining in regulation, after Canada had taken the lead with two consecutive goals. Harvey also had an assist for a two-point night, as did teammate Laila Edwards (Wisconsin). Hilary Knight (Wisconsin) tallied a power-play goal to put the U.S. ahead, 4-3, while Aerin Frankel (Northeastern) made a total of 24 saves in net for the Americans.
Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin (Boston University) led all players in the game with two goals, while teammate Erin Ambrose (Clarkson) notched a goal and an assist. Ann-Renée Desbiens (Wisconsin) finished with 19 stops in goal for Canada in the win.
Next year's WWC will be held in the Czech Republic.
The United States is now a perfect 7-0 at the 2023 IIHF World Championship at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.
The U.S. edged Sweden, 4-3, in overtime in its final round-robin contest on Tuesday, after giving up a two-goal lead late in regulation. Dylan Samberg (Minnesota-Duluth) notched the game-winning goal in sudden death, with the primary assist going to Carter Mazur (Denver).
Lane Hutson (Boston University), Nick Bonino (Boston University) and Conor Garland also scored goals for the U.S., while T.J. Tynan (Notre Dame) led the Americans with two assists and Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire) made 23 saves for the victory. The U.S also outshot Sweden, 43-26, overall.
Team USA, which is seeking its first World Championship medal since claiming bronze two years ago, will now face Czechia in the quarterfinals.
ADDENDUM: The U.S. blanked Czechia, 3-0, and will meet Germany in the semifinals. The other semifinal will feature Canada against co-host Latvia, with the two semifinal winners meeting in the final for the gold medal.
The United States is off to a good start at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in eastern Canada.
Team USA posted a 5-2 victory over Latvia on Monday in Moncton, N.B. to open this year's tournament, as five different players scored for the Americans. Sean Behrens (Denver) and Red Savage (Miami) tallied a goal and an assist apiece for the U.S., while Dylan Duke (Michigan) set up two goals and Trey Augustine made 15 saves in net.
The 2023 U.S. WJC squad this year features no less than 20 players from 12 different NCAA Division I schools. The head coach for the Americans this year is Rand Pecknold (Quinnipiac University).
Team USA will face Slovakia in its next WJC match-up, on Thursday at the Avenir Centre in Moncton.
Longtime NHL player and color commentator Peter McNab (Denver) passed away on Sunday at the age of 70 after battling cancer.
Born in Vancouver, McNab was selected 85th overall in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, and went on to a 14-year NHL career with Buffalo, Boston, Vancouver and New Jersey in which he scored 363 regular-season goals before retiring in 1987.
A ten-time 20-goal scorer and a six-time 30-goal scorer who also recorded two 40-goal seasons, including nine straight campaigns from 1974 to 1983, McNab tallied 363 goals and 450 assists for 813 points in 954 career NHL regular-season contests. He also added 40-42—82 points in 107 Stanley Cup playoff outings, and helped Boston to the Stanley Cup Final in both 1978 and 1979.
A 6-foot-3, 205-pound forward, McNab played three NCAA seasons at DU (1971-1973), registering 78-92—170 points in 105 appearances. In his third and final season with the Pioneers, he collected a career-best 32-40—72 points in 38 outings and led DU to a third-place finish at the NCAA championship in Boston. He turned pro the following season and recorded 34-39—73 points with Cincinnati (AHL) in his lone minor-league campaign, while also making his NHL debut with Buffalo. He later represented the United States at the 1986 World Championships in the then-Soviet Union.
McNab, the son of the late NHL player/executive Max McNab and the brother of former NHL scout/executive David McNab (Wisconsin), went on to become a color commentator for New Jersey for eight years following his retirement as an active player. He then joined the Colorado Avalanche and was a party to their 1996, 2001 and 2022 Stanley Cup championships.
Rest in peace, Peter.
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.
The United States lost only one game at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship in Germany. Unfortunately, it was Sunday's gold medal game against Sweden.
The Swedes broke a 2-2 tie in the second period with back-to-back power-play goals, then held on for a 6-4 victory at Fanatec Arena in Landshut to claim its second U-18 gold ever, and first since 2019. The U.S., which was seeking its first gold medal in the U-18 Worlds since 2017, suffered its first loss of this year's tournament, after outscoring its opposition by a 47-11 count over five previous games. It was the fifth silver medal all-time for the U.S. since the U-18 tournament commenced in 1999.
Rutger McGroarty (Michigan commit) scored twice for the Americans, who also got goals from Ryan Leonard (Boston College) and Frank Nazar III (Michigan), all at even strength. The U.S. also outshot Sweden by a 51-15 margin overall. Trey Augustine (Michigan) made nine saves for Team USA, which surrendered an empty-net score in the final minute of play, after pulling within a goal.
Finland defeated the Czech Republic, 4-1, in the bronze medal game.
