Just 34 seconds later, and nine seconds into a power play opportunity, Luke Osburn (Plymouth, Mich./University of Wisconsin) threaded a pass across the slot to Ryker Lee (Wilmette, Ill./Michigan State University) on the back door, who tucked the puck past German netminder Lennart Neisse to double the U.S. lead.
At the 3:51 mark of the middle frame, while on the man advantage, Lee stickhandled past a pair of German players and maneuvered into the slot, where he sent a backhand dish to Will Zellers (Maple Grove, Minn./University of North Dakota) at the bottom of the right circle, who batted a one-timer home short-side to give Team USA a 3-0 lead.
Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass./Boston College) added to the tally with 1:37 to play in the second when he wristed the puck top-shelf from the slot off a feed from Lee. Horcoff then capitalized on a breakaway chance just eight seconds later to make it a 5-0 with Ziemer and EJ Emery (Compton, Calif./University of North Dakota) picking up assists on the play.
At the 1:30 mark of the final stanza, while the U.S. was shorthanded, Shane Vansaghi (St. Louis, Mo./Michigan State University) intercepted a pass in the defensive zone and sent a pass to Cole McKinney(Lake Forest, Ill./University of Michigan) who was all alone skating through the neutral zone. McKinney capitalized on a breakaway opportunity on the backhand to put the U.S. up 6-0.
Zellers got his second of the night with 4:12 remaining, scoring on a wrist shot from the top of the circles while on the power play.
With 2:26 to play in the contest, Ziemer scored off a feed from Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen (Northville, Mich./University of Michigan) to account for the 8-0 final.
Brady Knowling (Chicago, Ill./USA Hockey National Team Development Program) played the first 27:23 and made 12 stops to pick up the win. Nick Kempf (Morton Grove, Ill./ University of Notre Dame) played the final 32:37 and also had 12 saves.
The U.S. will play its second and final pre-tournament game Tuesday (Dec. 23) against Finland at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. Opening faceoff is set for 6 p.m. local time/7 p.m. ET, and the game will stream live on USAHockeyTV.com. Tickets for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship are on sale now, and available for purchase here.
NOTES: The U.S. outshot Germany 49-24 … Team USA went 3-6 on the power play, while Germany was 0-4.
