MONTREAL, CANADA - FEBRUARY 11: A general view of the morning skate for Team United States during media day ahead of the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre on February 11, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley and defenseman Michael Kesselring each scored a point in a 5-0 Team USA preliminary round opening win against Denmark.
Team USA faced Denmark in the tournament opener for both countries on Friday, May 9.
Great lead pass from Kesselring to thread the needle right on Gauthier’s stick.
Excellent finish.
USA up 1-0 after 1.pic.twitter.com/pfJ1LCPfvx
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) May 9, 2025
Kesselring started the scoring when he took possession of the puck on the defensive end.
He immediately looked ahead and found Anaheim Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier streaking toward the goal. Kesselring split the defense with a perfectly placed pass, and Gauthier did the rest for a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Top line is relentless, especially around the net.
Good effort here from Cooley to keep attacking and find the back of the net.pic.twitter.com/p5YB6Teaiv
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) May 9, 2025
Late in the second period, Cooley took advantage of a frantic power play sequence in front of the Danes’ net. After a series of scoring chances, Cooley banked a shot off of Denmark’s net-minder for a 2-0 lead.
Team USA will play Hungary on Sunday, May 11. The puck drop is at 4:20 a.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on the NHL Network. Utah Mammoth forward Josh Doan and Captain Clayton Keller round out the four locals on the U.S. roster.
The 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship tournament is held from May 9 to 25 in Herning, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden.
Day 1 in the books ☑️ #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/FRzZPGvmoV
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 9, 2025
Team USA will compete against host Denmark, along with Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Norway, and Switzerland in Group B in the preliminary round at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning. Group A, which will play its preliminary round games at Globe Arena in Stockholm, is comprised of host Sweden, along with Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Latvia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Cole Bagley is the Utah Hockey Club insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. Listen to Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
