A pair of Minnesotans propelled the United States into first place in its group Saturday at the world junior championship in Ottawa.
Minnesotans Danny Nelson and Hampton Slukynsky drive U.S. to victory at world juniors hockey tournament
The United States took the lead in its group at 2-0, lifted by Nelson’s two goals and Slukynsky’s 25 saves.
December 29, 2024 at 5:17AM
Danny Nelson, who played for Maple Grove and now is at Notre Dame, scored two goals in a 5-1 victory over Latvia, and Hampton Slukynsky, a goaltender from Warroad, made 25 saves.
James Hagens, a projected top-three pick in the 2025 NHL draft from Boston College, had two assists.
The United States (2-0) moved into first place in Group A.
“It was awesome how we all stuck together throughout that game,” Hagens said. “[Slukynsky] played unreal, and to be able to have a guy like that on your back end, that’s a huge help.”
Linards Feldbergs made 36 saves for Latvia (0-1-0-1), continuing a notable tournament. He made 55 saves in a 3-2 shootout win against Canada on Friday in what many consider the biggest upset in world juniors history.
“It’s cool to get the goal-scoring going a little bit, but [I] was more happy with how we played as a team and like how we came out with the win,” Nelson said. “Especially with how they played against Canada. Obviously, we knew they were going to play us hard, so we ultimately just wanted to come away with the win.”
Slukynsky, who plays for Western Michigan, made 12 saves in the second period. He made a left-pad save against Markuss Sieradzkis at 1:00 of the second period off a 2-on-0 breakout.
“It was 1-0 and, if they score, it’s 1-1 and the place erupts and you never know what’s going to happen,” said Slukynsky, who won the Frank Brimsek Award in 2023 as Minnesota’s top high school senior goaltender. “So to make that save, and then to get that second, third, fourth goal ... felt really good.”
The United States also got goals from Zeev Buium, a draft pick of the Wild from Denver; Max Plante, from Hermantown and Minnesota Duluth; and Ryan Leonard of Boston College,
The United States, the defending World Juniors champion, will play Finland on Sunday.
The world junior championship will be played in Minnesota in 2025. The games are expected to be played at Xcel Energy Center and 3M Arena at Mariucci.
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Danny Nelson, from Maple Grove, scored twice, and Hampton Slukynsky, from Warroad, made 25 saves.
