Game Day at the WJCs: USA vs Germany

Team USA shoots for a third preliminary round win this morning vs. Germany in a 9 a.m. ET start, airing on NHL Network and streamed on NHL.com.

● United States of Hockey game preview

● Team USA stats: Matt Grzelyk and Jack Eichel (photo) are tied with Michigan’s Andrew Copp for team lead with 3 points.

● NHL.com interview with Eichel

● Toronto Sun feature compares Eichel and Connor McDavid

Looking ahead

2014 recruit J.J. Piccinich scored a power play goal and 2015 recruit Maxim Letunov scored twice, including an extra-attacker goal, but Youngstown’s comeback fell a goal short, as Indiana edged the Phantoms, 5-4. Piccinich has a team-leading 16 goals and is tied for the USHL lead in power play goals with nine. Letunov’s pair give him a 12-13-25 scoring line.
●Phantoms recap

Youngstown mounted a strong comeback effort in the third period, beginning with Maxim Letunov’s whirling goal in front of Pawloski, spinning from right-to-left in front of the cage to go to his forehand and score.

“That’s a pretty special goal that [Letunov] scored,” said [Youngstown Coach Anthony] Noreen. “Those things are why Max is going to be an elite player—he’s an elite player now, and he’s going to be an elite player at the next level.”

The NTDP U17s begin the World U17 Challenge today with an opening round match-up against Russia. Gametime is 1 p.m. ET with free live streaming from Fast Hockey. BU 2015 recruits Jordan Greenway and Charles McAvoy have 19 and six points respectively for the U17s this season.

OverTheBoards commented on BU’s latest recruiting commitment

97 F Jordan Greenway (#2) commits to Boston University – December 27

Boston University continued their run on recruiting in picking up another Select 70 ranked prospect, committing very highly-regarded forward prospect Jordan Greenway. The 6’4 forward has been a mainstay on our Select 70 rankings, in the top three since the first ranking in May and after surveying much of the country, it’s hard to find many with more upside or ability. He has a feel for the puck typically not seen in a player his size, especially at a relatively young age, and is able to make clever puck distributions on the transition. Whether cutting to the net, bearing down on the wing or using his speed and frame as a weapon up the neutral zone, Greenway is tough to miss.

At the U16 level (for SSM last season), Greenway could be seen skating somewhat uninspired at times, only to take a bump the wrong way and follow it up with two or three consecutive dominant shifts, weaving the puck up ice through an entire team and getting off two or three shots in a single shift. Greenway’s athleticism is elite, hockey sense is there, and even better for college hockey (potentially BU as well), younger brother James has arguably even more upside. James, a 1998 defenseman at Shattuck isn’t at the same stage in his development that Jordan was at this time last season, but he’s similarly huge and has the upside to take over games from the back-end as he continues to add faculties to his skillset.

Looking back

Former Terrier defenseman David Warsofsky scored his first NHL goal, pulling the Bruins even with Ottawa in the third period after Boston had trailed by a pair, but Bobby Ryan’s late goal gave the Senators a 4-3 win.

Former BU captain and All-American Kevin Shattenkirk assisted on the game-tying goal late in the third period and then provided the shootout game winner for the Blues in their 6-5 comeback win over Chicago. The win gave St. Louis a perfect 3-0 record this season against the defending champion Blackhawks.

● Recap and video highlights

Women’s Team

Marie-Philip Poulin’s goal midway through the third period brought Canada even with the U.S. at 2-2, but Team USA prevailed in the shootout, winning 3-2, in a pre-Olympic matchup.