MD1 HC Gary Astalos Coaches USA, 4 Bulldogs, to World Cup of University Hockey Championship

Eight Bulldogs and MD1 Head Coach Gary Astalos travelled to Carts, Romania this April to take part in the 2023 World Cup of College Hockey.

Both North American teams were comprised of ACHA players, including eight Bulldogs as well as Astalos, the Head Coach of Team USA.

Sheldon Nolan, Matteo DiGiulio, Matt Dicesare and Noah Decottignies were all named to Team Canada with Nolan being named Captain.

Sebastian Smith, Sam Spaedt, Dylan Gajewski and Dakota Bohn all joined Astalos and Team USA where Spaedt wore an “A” for the tournament.

Both teams played three pool play games before the playoff round.

USA opened the tournament first in a contest against Sweden, winning in a typical Bulldog fashion with an 11-1 score. Spaedt picked up two goals and was +2 on the day.

Matteo DiGiulio would open the scoring for Team Canada in their opening contest against the host team Romania but Canada would fall in overtime in game one.

The Americans had a much closer game in day two, squeezing past Hungary 3-2. Smith would tally the game tying goal with assists from Spaedt and Gajewski in game two.

It would be Canada’s turn for a blowout in day two as they took on Poland. Decottignies would be between the pipes for the first time of the tournament for the win. DiGiulio would tally the eventual game winner and Nolan would snag two assists in the 10-3 victory for the boys from the north.

The US would take on Slovakia in the final game of pool play on Sunday where Smith would net the game winning goal with less than ten minutes remaining to win their pool.

Canada would take on the Czechs for the final game of pool play and find themselves down 4-2 after coming out to s 2-0 lead. DiGiulio would kickstart the comeback to pull the Canadians within one and Nolan would set up the game winning goal as the Canadians scored three goals in under five minutes to make the comeback to win their pool.

Both teams found themselves in the semifinals on Monday with the US facing off against the hosts Romania and the Canadians taking on Slovakia.

Bohn would open the scoring for the US who would go on to win 3-2 to send them to the World Cup of Hockey Final.

DiGiulio once again opened the scoring for Canada in the semifinals on a goal assisted by Nolan as they took down Slovakia by a score of 6-2.

The World Cup of Hockey finals would be all North America and all ACHA.

While the play was back and forth each period on both sides of the ice, it would be all Americans on the scoreboard with a final score of 4-0 to give the Americans the win. Gajewski and Spaedt both picked up assists in the final game. Sheldon Nolan was named MVP of the Tournament for Team Canada after taking his steady and dependable presence on the blue line to Romania for Team Canada.

Seniors Spaedt and Bohn now add World Cup of University Hockey champions to their resume that includes a National Championship, four GLCHL regular season titles and three GLCHL playoff championships.

Head Coach Gary Astalos adds to his accolades winning coach of the World Cup of University Hockey to his already impressive list of accolades that includes seven GLCHL regular season titles, five GLCHL playoff titles, two National Championships, five GLCHL Coach of the Year nods and one ACHA Coach of the Year Award.

BULLDOG TOURNAMENT STATS:

Sam Spaedt: 5GP 2G 3A 5pts +6

Sebastian Smith: 5GP 2G +4

Dakota Bohn: 5GP 1G 1A 2pts +7

Dylan Gajewski: 5GP 2A +4

Matteo DiGiulio: 5GP 4G 1A 5pts +5

Sheldon Nolan: 5GP 4A +3

Matt Dicesare: 5GP +2

Noah Decottignies: 1GP 1W 3GA