The New Jersey Devil influence continues to be felt for Team USA at the 2016 IIHF World Championship being held in Russia.
Miles Wood scored one of six American goals, as the US defeated Belarus today, 6-3. Wood scored the first goal of the game, giving Team USA a 1-0 lead in the first period. Auston Matthews scored two goals and Chris Wideman of the Senators and the Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin also scored for the Americans.
Other Devils’ stat lines looked like this: David Warsofsky had 14:47 of ice time paired with his Devils teammate Steven Santini on defense. Santini had two shots and 8:27 of ice time.
Princeton University product Mike Condon of the Montreal Canadiens started in goal for Team USA and made 20 saves. Keith Kinkaid got the night off.
Another Devils prospect in the game was playing for Belarus. Artur Gavrus had a shot in 11:29 for the Belarusians.
Coach John Hynes’ American team will next face Finland on Monday in the preliminary round.
In further Devil prospect news, John Quenneville and his Brandon Wheat Kings continued their quest for a Western Hockey League championship as they began their series with the Seattle Thunderbirds. They took game one 3-2 in overtime on Friday. Although Quenneville did not score (his scoring streak ended at seven games), he still remains tied for second among the WHL’s postseason scorers with 24 points, which includes 13 goals and 11 assists.
Game two takes place today in Brandon, Manitoba.