Of Red Wings prospect-related note:
At the World Junior Championship in Ottawa, the final games of “round robin” play took place, and here’s what happened:
Jesse Kiiskinen scored a goal on 4 shots, finishing at +1 in 14:16 played as Finland defeated Latvia 4-0, setting up a playoff quarterfinal match-up with Slovakia at 5 PM EST on Thursday:
Elsewhere in Ottawa, Axel Sandin Pellikka had an assist, finishing at +1 with 3 shots in 22:32 played as Sweden won 4-2 over Czechia, setting up a playoff quarterfinal match-up with Latvia at 12 PM EST on Thursday.
Captain Pellikka had this to say to IIHF.com’s Lukas Aykroyd, about a game in which Swedish forward Herman Traff scored 2 birthday goals:
“We played like we want to play,” said Sandin Pellikka. “We held our structure, played quick from the back end, and got some shots on net. It was a good second period.”
Finally, the Americans were out-gunned but not out-manned as goaltender Trey Augustine stopped 38 of 39 shots, and Max Plante finished even with 1 shot in 8:39 played, as Team USA beat the host Canadians by a 4-1 score. The Americans will play Switzerland in Thursday’s playoff quarterfinal at 2:30 PM EST.
Augustine spoke with NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale after earning player-of-the-game honors:
Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) made 38 saves for the United States in a 4-1 win against Canada in the 50th meeting of the storied rivalry at the IIHF 2025 World Junior Championship before 18,935 at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday.
“There was a lot of heart, lot of effort, and that’s all you can ask for,” Augustine said. “I just made the timely saves the guys needed, and they obviously helped me out too. I just thought it was a good team win.”
Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) and Cole Eiserman (New York Islanders) each had a goal and an assist for the United States (3-0-1-0), which went 3-for-7 on the power play.
“We were very emotionally invested into the game and special teams came up big again, the penalty kill (2-for-3) and the power play,” U.S. coach David Carle said. “I think you saw the care for each other and for the jersey really bleed through tonight in a lot of good ways. That’s where I talk about the emotion of the game. Did it get emotional? Yes, at times it got a little emotional, myself included, and we played with the emotion. We rallied around each other, which was a really big step for us.”
Augustine also said this to The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie:
“It’s pretty special,” USA goalie Trey Augustine said about beating Canada on New Year’s Eve in Canada’s building. “It’s definitely up there in my list, so far, of games played. But we’re not here to beat Canada tonight, we’re here to win a gold medal.”
And FloHockey’s Chris Peters weighed in on Augustine’s performance:
Trey Augustine (DET) made 38 saves, bouncing back from allowing eight goals in his previous two starts. It always seems that he has his best when the lights are brightest. Augustine had to make some key saves when the game was still in doubt. Any shakiness lingering from the previous two starts were gone.
Despite the raucous environment or perhaps because of it, Augustine thrived. After the game, he said “I love it” when the crowd is against him and his team. Some of the biggest saves he made were when Canada had a lot of bodies in front. Both in the first and second period, he had a lot of work and managed it well.
He allowed no goals at even strength, with Canada’s lone goal coming on the power play with a great look thanks to their puck movement.
Augustine now has 10 career wins, which ties him with Jack Campbell for most in a WJC career by an American netminder.
Should USA beat Switzerland in the quarterfinal, Augustine will get the record to himself with a chance to extend it.
After the game, David Carle admitted that the coaching staff had discussions about the possibility of starting Hampton Slukynsky (LAK), but ultimately went with Trey which was the initial plan before the tournament began. They got the result they were looking for and got their No. 1 goalie back on track in the process.
Elsewhere…
In the ECHL, Carter Gylander stopped 30 of 32 shots as the Toledo Walleye won a 3-2 decision over the Cincinnati Cyclones;
In the QMJHL, Rudy Guimond served as the back-up in the Moncton Wildcats’ 5-1 win over Charlottetown;
In the USHL, Austin Baker finished even with 3 shots in the Sioux Falls Stampede’s 3-2 win over Des Moines;
And in NCAA hockey, the Max Plante-less University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs won 4-2 over Bemidji State.
