Defending champion US rebounds from
loss to Switzerland by beating Britain 5-1 at ice hockey worlds
[May 18, 2026]
ZURICH (AP) — Defending champion United States bounced back
from a loss to Switzerland with a 5-1 victory over tournament
newcomer Britain at the ice hockey world championship on Sunday.
Isaac Howard scored twice, Paul Cotter and Mathieu Olivier each had
three points and Declan Carlile had a goal and an assist for the
Americans. Goaltender Devin Cooley made 18 saves for the U.S. in the
preliminary Group A game in Zurich.
Cotter broke the deadlock 13:55 into the Group A game, knocking in
the puck from close range.
Nathanael Halbert tied it for Britain midway through the middle
period on a power play with a shot through heavy traffic.
Howard restored a 2-1 lead for the Americans with an unassisted goal
with 2:59 remaining in the period by exploiting a defensive blunder.
Howard is one of two players on the roster, along with Mason Lohrei,
who lifted the trophy last year.
Olivier and Carlile scored 15 seconds apart early in the final
period to increase the advantage to 4-1.
Olivier netted a rebound while Carlile scored with a deflected shot
from the blue line.
Howard added his second on a power play with 3:49 left.
The Americans next play Finland on Monday. On Tuesday, they will be
boosted with the arrival of Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk,
a member of the U.S. gold-winning team at the Milan Cortina
Olympics.
Britain, a newcomer to the top division, fell to its second straight
defeat.
In other Group A games, Austria topped Hungary 4-2 to get the second
win and Latvia shut out winless Germany 2-0 for its first victory.
[to top of second column] |
From left, USA's Mason Lohrei, Isaac Howard and Oliver Moore
celebrate after their team's second goal, during the 2026 IIHF Men's
Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A game between
Britain and the United States, in Zurich, Switzerland, Sunday, May
17, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP)
Sweden takes 1st win
Sweden recovered from a 5-3 defeat to Canada in the opening game by
routing Denmark 6-2 in Group B in Fribourg in a rematch of last
year’s bronze medal game that Sweden also won by the same score.
Raymond Lucas had a goal and two assists to spark the Swedes.
The 18-year-old forward Viggo Bjorck scored on a power play to
become the youngest Swedish player to score at the worlds and added
an assist. Another 18-year-old rising star for Sweden, Ivar
Stenberg, had two assists. The two are among the top prospects for
the 2026 NHL draft.
Mattias Ekholm, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jakob Silfverberg and Linus
Karlsson also scored for the Swedes.
In Fribourg, Slovakia downed another newcomer, Italy, 4-1 for its
second victory at the worlds.
A day after a stunning 3-2 victory over the Czechs in overtime,
Slovenia was outplayed 4-0 by Norway with Jacob Berglund scoring a
hat trick.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
