Gavin Brindley scored twice as Team USA opened the world junior hockey championships with a 4-1 victory over Norway on Tuesday in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Brindley is a sophomore winger at Michigan. Gophers winger Jimmy Snuggerud and Michigan State’s Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wis.) scored the other U.S. goals.
Markus Stensrud had 40 saves for Norway; the Norwegians’ only goal was a shorthander by Petter Vesterheim.
“I thought we got better as the game went on,” U.S. coach David Carle said. “And our goaltending was excellent. We have some things to work on, but it’s nice to get a win to start the tournament.”
Gophers defensemen Ryan Chesley and Sam Rinzel, Bemidji State defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, Notre Dame forward Danny Nelson (Maple Grove) and Gophers forward Oliver Moore also played for the U.S.
Michigan State goalie Trey Augustine made 22 saves for the Americans, who face Switzerland on Thursday.
In other games Tuesday, Slovakia beat Czechia 6-2; Canada beat Finland 5-2; and Sweden shut out Latvia 6-0.
Canada, the two-time defending gold medalist looking for its first three-peat since 2009, has just one returning player from the 2023 event in Halifax. Sweden’s captain is 2022 Wild first-round pick Liam Ohgren.
Canada is in Group A with the Finns, Swedes, Latvia and Germany. Group B consists of the U.S., Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Norway.