BOSTON -- With the Spengler Cup less than three months away, the U.S. Collegiate Selects announced the first six players on the 2026 roster that will head to Switzerland in December, headlined by Northeastern men's hockey goaltender Lawton Zacher.
 
Zacher (Buffalo, N.Y.) is the second Husky in as many seasons to be named to the team after Vinny Borgesi earned a spot on the roster in 2025.
 
Zacher returns to the Northeastern net in 2026-27 as one of the most experienced goaltenders in the nation. He enters the year first in the NCAA among active career leaders in games played (86) and minutes (4909), second in wins (35) and shutouts (seven) and fifth in save percentage (.920). He is one of 11 returning All-Americans in the country, and one of two goalies.
 
He earned Second-Team All-American honors as a junior in his first year with Northeastern, while also being named a Mike Richter Award Semifinalist and Second-Team All-Hockey East. The undrafted free agent played in 32 games in 2025-26 while logging five shutouts. Zacher tied for second in the NCAA with a .929 save percentage and fifth with a 2.20 goals-against average among goalies with at least 30 games played a season ago.
 
The U.S. Collegiate Selects open play at the 2026 Spengler Cup on Saturday, Dec. 26 against Frölunda HC of Sweden before facing host HC Davos on either Dec. 27 or Dec. 28.
 
The USCS roster, which will feature 25 student-athletes from all six NCAA Division I conferences, will continue to be announced in the coming months.
 
The Spengler Cup is the oldest invitational hockey tournament in the world, with the first edition held in 1923. The annual competition is held each December between Christmas and New Year's in Davos, Switzerland and features six teams from Europe and North America competing at the Eisstadion Davos.