Germany upset the United States, 4-3, in overtime on Saturday, and will face Canada in the final Sunday (1:30, The Hockey Network) for its first International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHL) medal since 1953.
“It’s a huge, huge step for German hockey, and it gives us big media recognition in Germany,” German forward Sam Soramies said. “That will make German hockey bigger, and we need that for sure.”
Seider, the Red Wings’ first-round draft pick from Adler Mannheim in 2019 and the Calder Trophy winner in 2022, led Germany in ice time at 27:04 and was plus-2 with one shot on goal against the U.S. (Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde is an assistant coach on Dave Quinn’s staff for Team USA).
In nine games, Seider has one goal, two assists, plus-5 with 31 minutes in penalties. He was ejected in Thursday’s quarterfinal win over Switzerland after a hit from behind on forward Gaetan Haas.
Seider will face University of Michigan forward Adam Fantilli and the Canadian national team in Sunday’s final. (Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has an associate role on Doug Armstrong’s management team for Canada).
The 18-year-old Fantilli, who won the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA player this year and is expected to be one of the top picks in the NHL draft, scored the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 4-2 victory over Latvia.
“I got the pass from (Milan) Lucic,” Fantilli said. “I was in the middle of a one-on-one and tried to make a move and ended up getting a shooting opportunity and it ended up going in. I’m really happy about it.”
Team USA will face Latvia in Sunday’s bronze-medal game (8:20 a.m., The Hockey Network).