Jack Musa’s third period goal wasn’t enough for the U.S. Collegiate Selects team which fell, 3-2, to Team Canada in its opening game at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland (Photo: USCollegeSelect/X.com)
Team Canada bested the U.S. Collegiate Selects, 3–2, in the opening game of the Spengler Cup riding a three-goal second period burst before holding off a late Selects rally.
After a scoreless opening period, Canada opened the scoring early in the second. At 5:34, Nate Schnarr made it 1–0 with Derek Grant credited with the assist. The lead doubled at 10:51 when Brett Seney scored off a play from Graeme Clarke, and Canada made it 3–0 just 59 seconds later at 11:50 on a goal by Mason Shaw, assisted by Jean-Luc Foudy and Grant.
The Selects responded quickly. At 12:48 of the second, Gavin McCarthy made history with the first-ever U.S. Collegiate Selects goal to cut it to 3–1, with Joey Muldowney earning the assist.
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The third period included a stretch of special-teams time without a change on the scoreboard, including coincidental minors at 3:03 — Jack Musa for tripping and Mike Sgarbossa for cross-checking. The Selects pulled within one at 7:50 of the third when Musa scored to make it 3–2. Canada protected the lead the rest of the way to close out the opener.
The loss for the U.S. Collegiate Selects sets up a round-robin matchup with host HC Davos on Saturday.
The U.S. Collegiate Selects’ presence in Davos is historic because it marks the first time the Spengler Cup has included an NCAA selects team in the tournament’s 102-year history. The event itself is one of hockey’s long-running international fixtures — an annual invitational hosted in Davos that traces back to 1923.
It’s also a different kind of entry than what the Spengler Cup typically features. Instead of a club team playing a full pro schedule, this U.S. group is a handpicked roster of current NCAA Division I players brought together specifically for the tournament, creating a one-off national “selects” lineup on an international stage.