Host HC Davos closed the 2025 Spengler Cup with a late surge, scoring three times in the final 4:39 to beat the U.S. Collegiate Selects 6–3 to capture the championship in Davos, Switzerland.
Davos opened the scoring at 11:15 of the first period when Rasmus Asplund put the hosts in front 1–0. The Selects answered at 13:25 as Ryan Walsh tied it 1–1, but Davos went back ahead at 14:49 on a goal by Adam Tambellini to take a 2–1 lead into the first intermission.
The Selects pulled even early in the second. At 3:56, Aiden Fink scored to make it 2–2. Davos regained the lead at 11:03 of the period when Tambellini scored his second of the night to put the hosts back in front 3–2, but the Selects had the response they needed before the break. With 14 seconds left in the second,, Jack Musa scored to tie it 3–3, leaving the final 20 to decide the champion.
That stalemate held deep into the third, with the game still level inside the final five minutes — until Davos found another gear. With 4:39 remaining, Filip Zadina broke the tie to make it 4–3. The hosts struck again 1:27 later at 16:48, when Enzo Corvi extended the lead to 5–3, and Davos added the finishing touch with 2:11 left as Matej Stransky made it 6–3 into the empty net to complete the three-goal closing run.
For the U.S. Collegiate Selects, the loss ended a week that had already turned into one of the most memorable stories of the tournament — and a landmark moment for college hockey on an international stage. In their first-ever appearance at the Spengler Cup, the Selects didn’t simply “participate.” They beat the host team, then beat a veteran pro side in the semifinal, and earned a spot in the championship game.
The path to the final said plenty about what this group became over a few short days: a team that could handle the tournament’s pace, answer momentum swings, and produce offense against older, more established competition. They took an early punch, falling 3-2 to Team Canada in the opener, responded the next day with a complete win over Davos, then followed it with another five-goal performance against Sparta Praha to reach the final.
Even in the championship game, the Selects were right there. They answered Davos’ first lead, answered it again in the second period, and went to the third tied. The difference was the final stretch — Davos’ three goals in the last 4:39 turned a one-shot game into a 6–3 final and delivered the title to the hosts.
But the larger takeaway remains the run itself: a first-time U.S. Collegiate Selects entry reaching the final, pushing the host club into a tied third period, and leaving Davos with a result that reflects how quickly this group found its footing.