Hagens Shines with Four Points as Team USA Dominates Germany in World Junior Championship Clash

United States 10, Germany 4 — James Hagens, a potential No. 1 selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, netted two goals and added two assists for the United States during their inaugural match in Group A held at Canadian Tire Centre.

Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers) scored two goals and contributed an assist, while Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) provided five assists for the United States, who clinched the gold medal at the 2024 WJC in Sweden. Brodie Ziemer (Buffalo Sabres) tallied two goals, and Trevor Connelly (Vegas Golden Knights), Brandon Svoboda (San Jose Sharks), and Cole Eiserman (New York Islanders) each recorded a goal and an assist. Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) made 18 saves in goal.

“As with any opening matches, there are ups and downs,” stated United States coach David Carle. “I believe there’s notably more positive than negative, yet there are definitely some lessons to impart.”

Germany saw goals from Julius Sumpf (2025 draft eligible), David Lewandowski (2025 draft eligible), Lenny Boos (2025 draft eligible), and Timo Ruckdaschel (2025 draft eligible). Nico Pertuch (2025 draft eligible) made 46 saves in goal.

Hagens initiated the scoring at 8:07 in the first period by driving toward the net and deftly chipping a loose puck past Pertuch.

Perreault extended the lead to 2-0 at 11:56 on a setup from Hagens. Perreault, Hagens, and the United States captain Ryan Leonard (Capitals) all play together on the same line at Boston College.

Connelly elevated the score to 3-0 at 1:38 of the second period, finishing off a 3-on-2 break by burying his own rebound.

Sumpf narrowed the gap to 3-1 by scoring from the left circle at 5:00, and Lewandowski further reduced the deficit to 3-2 at 9:23 with a goal from the high slot.

Hagens restored a two-goal lead at 4-2 in the second period at 14:01, receiving a pass from Perreault and scoring from between the face-off circles.

This goal followed a penalty kill for the United States after an unsuccessful offside challenge on Lewandowski’s goal.

“That was crucial, especially following that shift with [Oliver] Moore, Ziemer, and [Max] Plante. They had them contained and forced an icing,” Carle remarked. “James’ line came on, won a wall battle, Gabe got to the inside, and [Leonard] was at the net. … I think the bench exhaled a bit after overcoming the penalty kill and then scoring that goal to close out the second period as we did.”

Svoboda contributed to the tally, making it 5-2 at 18:40 with a backhand shot from the crease, followed by Perreault who scored again at 19:39 to make it 6-2.

Carey Terrance capped a give-and-go with Svoboda at 3:04 of the third period, pushing the score to 7-2.

Boos netted a rebound at the front of the net to register Germany’s third goal at 5:37, making the score 7-3.

Ziemer scored again at 7:16, tapping in a backdoor opportunity to widen the lead to 8-3, and added another at 9:44 after a video review confirmed the puck crossed the goal line, taking the score to 9-3.

Ruckdaschel found the net with a shot from the slot, bringing the score to 9-4 at 16:14.

Eiserman finished off the scoring at 18:13.

Germany’s upcoming matchup will be against Finland on Friday (3:30 p.m. ET), while the United States will face Latvia on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET).