Latvia stuns the US and the Swiss rout Hungary at ice hockey worlds

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From left, USA's Paul Cotter, Latvia's goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis and Latvia's Arturs Andzans challenge for the puck during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match between Latvia and the United States in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)

Latvia's Deniss Smirnovs, right, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match between Latvia and the United States in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP) — From left, USA's Paul Cotter, Latvia's goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis and Latvia's Arturs Andzans challenge for the puck during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match between Latvia and the United States in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)

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6:52 AM on Saturday, May 23

The Associated Press

ZURICH (AP) — Sandis Vilmanis scored two empty-net goals and Latvia upset the United States 4-2 to hand the defending champion its third defeat at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday.

Deniss Smirnovs' goal early in the third period gave Latvia a 2-1 lead and set up a wild ending.

The Americans pulled goaltender Devin Cooley for an extra attacker but Vilmanis scored with 1:02 left to make it 3-1.

The U.S. struck back — again with six skaters — when Matthew Tkachuk set up Mathieu Olivier to cut the deficit to one from the slot with 0:51 remaining.

Vilmanis sealed the victory, though, when he netted his second with 42 seconds to go.

Latvia opened the scoring in the first period when Haralds Egle connected at 8:47 with his team’s second shot on goal.

Tkachuk's power-play goal — his first at the worlds — tied it at 1-1 with 5:12 remaining in the middle period. The two-time Stanley Cup winner and Olympic champion played only his second career game at the worlds after joining teammates on Tuesday.

The loss left the U.S. fifth in Group A, one point behind Latvia. The Americans have two group-stage games left against Hungary on Monday and Austria on Tuesday.

In Group B in Fribourg, Denmark blanked Slovenia 4-0 for its first win.

Perfect Swiss

Captain Roman Josi scored a hat trick and added an assist and Sven Andrighetto had a five-point game with a goal and four assists as Switzerland shut out Hungary 9-0 in Zurich.

The dominant hosts have been cruising through the tournament with six wins from six games, including another 9-0 rout of Austria. They lead Group A by three points from Finland.

In Fribourg, captain Roman Červenka deflected the puck into the net with his skate to score the winner and Czechia topped Slovakia 3-2 in a matchup of countries that once formed Czechoslovakia.

It was the first defeat for the Slovaks. Canada remained the only unbeaten team and atop Group B. The Czechs were a point behind and Slovakia two points further back.

Later Saturday, Austria played Germany in Zurich and Sweden faced Norway in Fribourg.

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