In IIHF U20 World Junior Championship preliminary action at Bell Centre, USA defeated Germany 6-0 improving to 2-0-0. Red Wings prospect Dylan Larkin led the Americans with two goals and an assist. Sabres prospect Hudson Fasching had a goal and assist.

USA placed three other goalscorers including highly touted 2015 Draft Eligible Jack Eichel, who used tremendous reach to score on a wraparound. I’ll try to put up the video later if it becomes available. Sonny Milano and Auston Matthews also sniped as the Americans dominated the Germans outshooting them 53-14.

The beneficiary was Rangers 2014 second round pick Brandon Halverson, who stopped all 14 shots for the shutout. At least he stayed awake. For the day, it was productive for our goalie prospects with Igor Shestyorkin stopping all 32 in a 7-0 Russia shutout of Switzerland. Also of note, Russian forward Pavel Buchnevich tallied a goal and two helpers.

As for USA who followed up a 2-1 shootout win over Finland with a six-goal triumph against Germany, they were all over an overmatched opponent. They all backcheck and forecheck aggressively. The poor Germans struggled to get out of their end. They peppered Ilja Sharipov with 22 shots in a lopsided first period. The 19-year old German who also is Russian was brilliant. If not for him, the score could’ve been 12-0. He made some remarkable saves. Even while allowing six, Sharipov deservedly was selected Player Of The Game getting a standing ovation from the crowd.

The Americans were still able to beat Sharipov twice in the first with Matthews at 4:44 followed by Fasching at 12:30 on a Larkin rebound. They easily could’ve had more. In the second, Milano had a nice move and finish and Larkin scored his first after a power play expired. That was about the only area USA struggled with. Way too much passing and not enough shooting. They had plenty of chances but didn’t score.

Comfortably up 4-0 with under six minutes left, Eichel scored a highlight reel goal. Taking a no look feed from Tyler Motte, in one motion he coolly wrapped the puck around using his reach for a sweet finish. The way he swept the puck in was a thing of beauty. World class skill.

With under a minute to go, Larkin shrugged off an incredible Sharipov save going five-hole from Fasching and Zach Werenski. It looks like the Red Wings got another future star. Selected in the 2014 first round 15th overall, Larkin is a freshman at Michigan who has three goals and 13 assists in 15 games. What else would you expect from a franchise who stole Anthony Mantha in the 2013 Draft 20th overall? They don’t need to draft high. With the next wave featuring Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar, the Winged Wheel is in good shape.

USA next takes on Slovakia tomorrow at 4 PM with coverage on NHL Network. I definitely like the addition of former Pens coach Dan Bylsma to broadcast booth. He teamed with Steve Mears and did a good job. He’s very detail oriented and provides a lot of insight. I wonder how long Bylsma will be in TV. There will be plenty of coaching vacancies.

For any official game summary of #WJC2015, just go to the IIHF site. After tomorrow’s game, the highly anticipated traditional New Year’s Eve game between USA and Canada is Wednesday night. That should be tremendous. It’ll feature the top 2 prospects with Eichel and Connor McDavid going head to head. There’s also a plethora of talent between the two North American rivals. These games have become the pinnacle of the tournament. It should be great.