Three former Green Bay Gamblers led the U.S. Collegiate Selects to the championship game of the Spengler Cup last week after the squad was projected to finish in last place before the tournament began.
Pennsylvania State University’s Matt DiMarsico, University of Minnesota Duluth’s Adam Gajan and University of Notre Dame captain Danny Nelson helped the U.S. to a runners-up spot in the Spengler Cup after a 6-3 loss to Swiss hosts HC Davos. It marked the first time that a U.S.-based team reached the final since 1988 and was the first time in the 102-year history of the competition that an NCAA selects team featuring top Division I talent traveled to Switzerland to compete for the title.
After dropping their opening contest to Team Canada 3-2, the U.S. Collegiate Selects upset hosts HC Davos with a 5-3 win behind a pair of goals from DiMarsico who was named the Player of the Game. The U.S. were crowned Cattini group champions and earned a bye into the semifinals where they defeated HC Sparta Praha out of the Czech Republic 5-3.
DiMarsico was named one of the three Stars of the Tournament following the championship game that saw HC Davos get its revenge on the U.S. to claim its 17th Spengler Cup. HC Davos has hosted the tournament since its inception in 1923 by Swiss physician Dr. Carl Spengler, who created the Spengler Cup to unite Europe after World War I. The Spengler Cup has become Europe’s most prestigious hockey tournament and invites six club or national teams from across the world to compete each year.
