Will Zellers scored twice and added an assist as the United States beat Germany 6-3 in both team’s opening game of the World Junior Championships on Friday at Grand Casino Arena.

Zellers scored twice in the second period, picking up assists from Anthony Spellacy on both goals.

Max Plante opened the scoring for the back-to-back defending champions, finishing a rebound from a Teddy Stiga shot 5:34 into the first period.

Zellers and Brandon McMorrow assisted Chase Reid on a second goal midway through the first period before Will Horcoff netted a third with 4:05 remaining in the period.

Germany cut a three-goal deficit to two when Timo Kose scored with 2:21 left in the first period.

They cut that two-goal deficit to one on two occasions in the second period. Simon Seidl and Lenny Boos both scored in the second period, with Dustin Willhoft assisting on both efforts. Zellers’ goals created a two-goal cushion for the US each time.

Cole Eiserman’s goal with 1:53 left in the second period re-established the three-goal lead.

The US has now outscored Germany 44-12 in the last six meetings. They are seeking to become first team to win three consecutive world junior titles since Canada won five straight from 2005 to 2009.

Both teams will continue Group A play on Saturday. Germany faces Slovakia and the US faces Switzerland.

United States forward Max Plante celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period of an IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship game against Germany, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Germany forward Dustin Willhoft, right, shoots the puck as United States forward Ryker Lee (17) defends during the first period of an IIHF World Junior Championship game, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

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PHOENIX — Gophers star defensive end Anthony Smith made his big announcement in front of a national TV audience on Friday night.

Minnesota Gophers defensive lineman Anthony Smith (0) photographed during the teams media day held at the Gibson/Nagurski complex in Minneapolis on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

After winning defensive Most Valuable Player in Minnesota’s 20-17 win over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl, the redshirt junior told ESPN he will return to Minnesota for the 2026 season.

On Wednesday, Smith told reporters in Arizona he wasn’t sure what his future would hold: either return to Minnesota, enter the transfer portal or head to the NFL. That decision came to the surface 48 hours later.

In the Rate Bowl, Smith had six tackles, two sacks, two tackles for lost yards and two pass break-ups. One of those stops included a tackle for loss on a Lobos fake punt on fourth and 2 in the second half.

“Great player,” New Mexico coach Jason Eck said postgame.

The return of Smith is a huge boost for Minnesota; he finished the season with 12 1/2 sacks.

The U’s defensive line is losing a handful of seniors in Deven Eastern, Jalen Logan-Redding and Rushawn Lawrence, among others.

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PHOENIX — A part of Brian Urlacher must have appreciated the defensive rock fight the Rate Bowl turned into on Friday at Chase Field.

But the outstanding ex-New Mexico and Chicago Bears linebacker, who was on the Lobos’ sideline, wanted a better a better outcome.

The Gophers edged New Mexico 20-17 in overtime, with quarterback Drake Lindsey throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Smith on the last play of the game.

With the TD, the Gophers extended its bowl winning streak to nine straight games since 2015, including 7-0 under head coach P.J. Fleck.

Lindsey was not his finest on Friday, but he stepped up big when Minnesota needed him most, similar to how he did in comeback wins over Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan State during the regular season.

Lindsey was 18 for 28 for 147 yards and two TDs and both were hauled in by Smith.

The Gophers (8-5) were a 2.5-point favorite against New Mexico (9-4), a Mountain West Conference school in a bowl game for the first time since 2015.

The Lobos, which beat UCLA in September, were a handful for another Big Ten team on Friday. New Mexico held the Gophers to less than 230 yards in regulation and forced six punts. The Gophers had eight penalties, which set them back regularly.

“Not very clean by us, but we are the cardiac Gophers,” Fleck told KFAN postgame.

The Gophers took a 14-6 lead with Darius Taylor’s five-yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter, but it was short lived as New Mexico’s kick returner Damon Bankston returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

With a two-point conversion, it was tied 14-14.

Bankston, who returned a kick for a TD against Boise State in October, didn’t have to make much of a cut nor break a single tackle on the return. An absolute stroll into the end zone.

Minnesota bounced back by keeping its starting defense on the field when New Mexico lined up for a punt on fourth-and-2. Fleck was yelling “Fake” on the sideline as the Lobos’ run play was stopped by Anthony Smith for lost yards.

To start the game, the Gophers offense was out of whack, with punts on its opening two drives and a turnover on its third possession.

On fourth-and-1, Minnesota attempted a gadget play. They lined up for a tush-push formation, but the snap intentionally went under Drake Lindsey’s legs. It unintentionally hit fullback Frank Bierman’s arm on its way to Taylor.

The ball bounced awkwardly, and Taylor couldn’t fall on it. New Mexico took over at Minnesota’s 46-yard line and added a field goal off the turnover for a 6-0 lead.

The Lobos took a 3-0 lead after a 15-play, 66-yard drive in the first quarter.

After cover-your-eyes offense well into the second quarter, Minnesota put together a 75-yard touchdown drive.

Taylor started it off with a nice spin move and burst around the left edge for a 38-yard gain. Lindsey capped it off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Smith in the corner of the end zone.

For how much Minnesota struggled to star the rate Bowl, they led 7-6 at the half.

Minnesota punted on its opening drive against New Mexico on Friday, capping a wall-to-wall season of slow starts to games.  They punted to open 11 of 12 games against FBS-level competition this season. Ironically, they somehow took a 3-0 lead to start their Big Ten game at then-No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 4.

Minnesota made its fifth appearance in this Phoenix bowl, which ties Kansas State for the most visits. The Gophers were also here in 2006, ’08, ’09 and 2021, a 18-6 win over West Virginia.

The city of Woodbury is being considered for one of 23 detention centers the Trump administration is planning to develop to house more than 80,000 immigrants, according to the Washington Post.

The newspaper reported Wednesday that the Trump administration is developing a plan to “overhaul the United States’ immigrant detention system.” The plan would involve renovating industrial warehouses dotted around the country to serve as Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers, the Post reported, citing a draft solicitation for contractors that it reviewed.

The Post said the system would be made up of seven 5,000- to 10,000-bed warehouses and 16 smaller facilities. Two of the larger warehouses would be in Texas and five more in Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri and Virginia.

Woodbury was listed as one of the 16 smaller warehouses, with 500-1,500 beds, in a graphic that accompanied the article.

The Post noted that the draft it viewed was not final and the Department of Homeland Security would not confirm the plan or answer questions about the warehouses.

Officials at Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not return Pioneer Press email inquiries about the proposal on Friday.

A spokesman for the city of Woodbury said they had not been notified of the plans.

“City staff has not been contacted by anyone regarding the acquisition and/or use of property in Woodbury by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” said Eric Searles, Woodbury Assistant Community Development Director.

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