BOSTON — Whitefish native Jake Sanderson made a mark on the championship game of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday, scoring a second-period goal in a 3-2 loss overtime loss to Canada at the TD Garden.
Creeping toward the net from his position on defense, Sanderson scored at 7:32 of the second, snapping a rebound past goalie Jordan Binnington to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead. Austin Matthews and Zach Werenski assisted on the goal.
Canada won at 8:18 of sudden-death overtime on a goal by Connor McDavid
The game was tied 1-1 after the first period following goals by Canada's Nathan MacKinnon and Team USA's Brady Tkachuk. Less than seven minutes after Sanderson gave the U.S. the lead in the second, Canada's Sam Bennett scored the equalizer and the teams went into the second intermission tied 2-2.
Sanderson, a defenseman with the Ottawa Senators, joined Team USA for the best-on-best midseason international tournament on Feb. 9 as a late roster addition after Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes pulled out due to injury.
Sanderson did not appear in the team's two round-robin wins over Finland and Canada, but played in a 2-1 loss to Sweden on Monday. He remained in the lineup for Thursday's championship after Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was ruled out with an injury.
Sanderson finished Thursday's game with a goal, one hit and five blocked shots in 19:44 of ice time.
A University of North Dakota product, Sanderson, 22, is in his third season with Ottawa after being drafted in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He is the first Montana-born player to appear in the NHL.
Sanderson previously played internationally for Team USA at the 2021 World Juniors, the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2024 IIHF World Championship.
Born in Whitefish in 2002, Sanderson grew up playing in the Glacier Hockey Association. His family moved to Calgary, Alberta, when he was 12. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. Sanderson's father Geoff scored 355 goals in 17 NHL seasons.
