A good day for team USA left Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider’s Germans in the cellar.
Seider earned an assist Monday but the U.S. rallied from a one-goal deficit to bank a 3-2 victory at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland. The U.S., which has Derek Lalonde on the coaching staff and Wings prospect Carter Mazur in the lineup, improved to 3-0 in the standings, and with a 14-4 goal differential that could come in handy when the preliminary round ends as far as positioning for the quarterfinals.
Mazur, 21, had an assist in his first game. He’s gaining valuable experience at an elite level of hockey that will stand him well at Wings’ camp in the fall. The Wings drafted the winger in the third round, at No. 70, in 2021.
While the U.S. has cruised past Finland (4-1 victory on opening day) and Hungary (7-1 victory), it has been a rough start for the Germans, who added Seider after he originally said when the Wings’ season ended that he had decided to forego the annual tournament this spring.
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But Germany has also had a tough schedule, beginning with an opening day 1-0 loss to Sweden and a second-day 4-3 loss to Olli Määttä’s Finns. Those are the three powerhouses in Group A. The schedule for the rest of the preliminary round has the Germans playing Denmark on Thursday, Austria on Friday, Hungary on Sunday, and France on May 23. So there is certainly still a chance the Germans can rise from the bottom of their group standings and advance to the quarterfinals.
The U.S.’s next games come against Austria, Denmark and France, with Sweden looming at the end of the early round.
In early Group B action Monday, Canada beat Slovakia, 2-1, in a shootout to move into first place in group standings. Wings forward Joe Veleno has one assist in three games for Canada, which is 2-1-0-0 with a 13-3 goal differential. (The tournament distinguishes between regulation and non-regulation victories in standings.)
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.