Jacob Trouba leads Team USA to win over Belarus in IIHF Men’s Worlds opener

By Michael Caples –

They may have been taking on the host country, but that didn’t bother Team USA in their first game of the World Championship.

The American squad beat Belarus 6-1 today in their tournament opener at the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship.

Rochester native Jacob Trouba scored twice for Team USA, while Davison native Tim Thomas stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in the contest. Trouba finished with six total shots (a team high) and 22:32 worth of ice-time, which also led Team USA.

Brock Nelson, Johnny Gaudreau, Jake Gardiner and Colin McDonald also scored for the Americans in the lopsided victory.

Clay Township native and Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser assisted on Trouba’s first goal, which was Team USA’s first of the tournament. DeKeyser skated for 20:06 and finished +1.

Ann Arbor native Jeff Petry recorded an assist on Trouba’s second. The Edmonton Oilers defenseman played for 17:16 and was +2 on the day.

Newly-named captain Justin Abdelkader, a Muskegon native and current Red Wings forward, played for 11:59 and finished +1. Abdelkader is wearing No. 89, presumably a mix of his Red Wings and Michigan State Spartans jersey numbers (he was born in 1987).