Cole Hutson has 5 assists, defending champion US routs Germany 10-4 in world junior hockey opener

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had five assists to help the United States open its world junior hockey title defense with a 10-4 victory over Germany on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre.

Boston College's James Hagens had two goals and two assists, and fellow BC forward Gabe Perreault and Minnesota's Brodie Ziemer also scored twice in the Group A game. BU’s Brandon Svoboda and Cole Eiserman, Providence's Trevor Connelly and the Erie Otters' Carey Terrance added goals, and Michigan State's Trey Augustine made 18 saves.

“I thought overall we did a lot of good things and we’ll continue to grow and build,” said U.S. coach David Carle of Denver. “It was good to get a win under our belt and we’ll turn our focus now to playing Latvia on Saturday.”

Julius Sumpf, David Lewandowski, Lenny Boos and Timo Ruckdaschel scored for Germany, and Nico Pertuch stopped 46 shots. Germany will face Finland on Friday.

Also in Group A, Carter George made 31 saves in Canada's 4-0 victory over Finland. Gavin McKenna, Easton Cowan, Luca Pinelli and Matthew Schaefer scored.

In Group B at TD Place, Sweden beat Slovakia 5-2, and Czechia topped Switzerland 5-1. Defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka had a natural hat trick and added an assist for Sweden.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

USA forward Brodie Ziemer (74) gets the puck past to score on Germany goaltender Nico Pertuch (1) during third period IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship preliminary round action in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

United Sttaes goaltender Trey Augustine (1) makes a glove-save against Germany forward Noah Samanski (8) during second-period IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship preliminary round game action in Ottawa, Ontario, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Germany goaltender Nico Pertuch lies on the ice during the third period after allowing the United States' eighth goal during IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship preliminary round game action in Ottawa, Ontario, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

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