USA 8 - GER 2 / CAN 8 - CZE 1

I didn't get the chance to watch either game today, but both USA and Canada were victorious in their first preliminary games. As you know, Badger defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Cody Goloubef are playing for Team USA and Team Canada, each wearing #17 for their respective countries.

USA 8 - GER 2
James van Riemsdyk (UNH) and Drayson Bowman scored 2 goals each, and Jordan Schroeder (Minn), Colin Wilson (BU), Matt Rust (Mich), and Tyler Johnson each chipped in a goal for Team USA. Ryan McDonagh, who started on D for Team USA, had an assist and finished +2.

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Recaps: usahockey, iihf
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Photos


CAN 8 - CZE 1
John Tavares scored a pair of goals, and Zach Boychuck, Angelo Esposito, Chris Di Domenico, Tyler Ennis, Ryan Ellis, and Alex Pietrangelo each chipped in a goal for Team Canada. Cody Goloubef had 2 SOG and finished +2.

Looking at Canada's roster, Goloubef appears to be the only NCAA player on the roster. It's not surprising to see major juniors players make the roster preferentially over NCAA players, but I was surprised to see just 1 NCAA player. (To be honest, I don't know the breakdown from previous years, so I'm not sure how this compares to previous rosters.) Regardless, it's a nice accomplishment for Goloubef to be the sole NCAA representative on the team.

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Recaps: hockeycanada, iihf


Next up:
USA v. CZE -- Sun, Dec 28, 6:30 PM CST (televised live on the NHL Network)
CAN v. KAZ -- Sun, Dec 28, 2:30 PM CST (televised live on the NHL Network)