Three Spartans to Participate in IIHF World Championships
Michigan State hockey will have two players and a staff member representing Team USA at the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in Czechia, per Michigan State Athletics. The IIHF World Championships will be played May 10-26.
Current Spartans goaltender Trey Augustine, a native of South Lyon, Michigan, is listed as one of the team’s netminders. Defenseman and Farmington, Michigan native Jeff Petry is set to make his fourth World Championships appearance. Michigan State performance coach Will Morlock is listed as Team USA’s strength and conditioning coach.
Augustine recently completed his freshman season at Michigan State. He spent time with the US National Team Development Program and has experience on the international level. In the last 12 months, Augustine has helped guide the Men’s Under 20 team to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships. Last May, he helped guide the Under 18 team to a gold medal at the World Championships. He will now play at the senior men's World Championship as a senior for the first time.
Augustine, a 2023 second-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, completed one of the best first-season campaigns in Michigan State hockey history. He was a finalist for the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year and the Mike Richter Award, given to the nation’s top goaltender. Augustine was also a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection.
He was a Big Ten All-Freshman team member and helped guide MSU to its most wins in 15 seasons and MSU’s first-ever Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles en route to an NCAA regional final. Augustine had more saves than anyone else in the country, with 1,113 saves on the season.
Petry is slated for his fourth appearance in the World Championships. He is in his 14th season in the NHL and plays for the Detroit Red Wings. It will be his first appearance in the World Championships in a decade, as his last appearances were in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Petry was a Spartan from 2007-10. As a Junior in 2009, he was a team captain and registered a 9-58-67 scoring line over three seasons.
The Edmonton Oilers selected Petry with the 45th overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft. He would make his NHL debut in 2010 with the Oilers. Since then, he has appeared in 937 NHL games.
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Ezekiel is a former Sports Editor from the Western Herald and former Atlanta Falcons beat writer.