OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) -- Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had five assists to help the United States open its world junior hockey title defense with a 10-4 victory over Germany on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre.

Boston College's James Hagens had two goals and two assists, and fellow BC forward Gabe Perreault and Minnesota's Brodie Ziemer also scored twice in the Group A game. BU's Brandon Svoboda and Cole Eiserman, Providence's Trevor Connelly and the Erie Otters' Carey Terrance added goals, and Michigan State's Trey Augustine made 18 saves.

"I thought overall we did a lot of good things and we'll continue to grow and build," said U.S. coach David Carle of Denver. "It was good to get a win under our belt and we'll turn our focus now to playing Latvia on Saturday."

Julius Sumpf, David Lewandowski, Lenny Boos and Timo Ruckdaschel scored for Germany, and Nico Pertuch stopped 46 shots. Germany will face Finland on Friday.

In the late game, Canada faced Finland in Group A.

In Group B at TD Place, Sweden beat Slovakia 5-2, and Czechia topped Switzerland 5-1. Defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka had a natural hat trick and added an assist for Sweden.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.