After a good run with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Alex Nedeljkovic stumbled to start his international play.

PITTSBURGH – Team USA added Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic just before the start of the 2024 IIHF World Championship, and it felt like a deserved invitation. Nedeljkovic put up an outstanding record down the stretch of the Penguins season and earned the right to compete on the international stage.

Nedeljkovic’s debut in the tournament didn’t go as planned, however, against Slovakia. With a 1-1 record heading into their third game of the tournament, Alex Lyon suffered an injury giving Nedeljkovic the start.

Before the end of the second period, the United Stated decided to pull Nedeljkovic after he allowed four goals on 16 shots. Nedeljkovic was pulled for Trey Augustine just under nine minutes into the second period.

This was Nedeljkovic's debut at the IIHF World Championship, and he only made it through 39 minutes of the contest.

The United States went on to score three goals in the third period, and Augustine stopped every shot he faced to force overtime. Three minutes into the overtime period, Milos Kelemen of Slovakia finally deflected a shot from Simon Nemec past Augustine for the win.

Team USA now sits fourth in their group with a 1-0-1-1 record for four points.

Penguins assistant coach Ty Hennes is also part of Team USA’s coaching staff at this year’s tournament.

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