USA beats Germany 5-2 in World Juniors pre-tournament game; cuts begin

By @MichaelCaples –

After beating Boston University 5-2 in a tune-up scrimmage at the end of their training camp on the Terriers’ campus, Team USA’s World Juniors squad played in their first game against international competition yesterday.

The Americans beat Germany 5-2 in a pre-tournament game held in Kingston, Ontario.

University of Michigan members started the scoring for Team USA; JT Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) was the first to strike, with an assist coming from UM teammate Michael Downing (Canton). Four minutes later, Tyler Motte (St. Clair) scored, with the primary assist coming from Dylan Larkin (Waterford).

Despite his assist last night, however, Downing was released from the World Junior tryout roster this morning.

Wolverines’ freshman defenseman Zach Werenski scored the team’s fourth goal.

Plymouth Whalers netminder Alex Nedeljkovic played half the contest for Team USA, stopping six of the eight shots he faced.

There are still roster cuts to make before the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team is officially decided for the prestigious Under-20 international tournament. Players still on the roster that did not dress last night were Plymouth Whalers forward Sonny Milano, Jack Eichel, Steve Santini, Alex Tuch and Traverse City native Brandon Halverson.

In addition to Downing, Macomb native Michael McCarron has also been released, as has Adam Erne and Jack Dougherty.