The U.S. opened 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 5-1 win over Germany Tuesday night, led by defenseman Luke Hughes (Michigan), who scored a goal and added an assist for Team USA at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Hughes was also named the U.S. player of the game as the United States outshot Germany 50-11.
“We really had a good start to the game, and I liked how we stuck with it throughout,” said Nate Leaman (Providence), head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team, in a statement. “We had six or seven good chances and Germany’s goaltender was making good saves. We could’ve gotten frustrated, but we didn’t, and eventually guys got rewarded.”
Logan Cooley (Minnesota), Landon Slaggert (Notre Dame), Red Savage (Miami), and Riley Duran (Providence) also scored, and Kaidan Mbereko (Colorado College) stopped 10 of 11 shots in goal for the United States.
Team USA will face Switzerland in preliminary tournament play on Thursday, Aug. 11 at 10 p.m. ET back at Rogers Place, live on NHL Network.
