HERNING, Denmark – The United States dominated Denmark with a resounding 5-0 victory in the opening day of the ice hockey world championship on Friday.
Matty Beniers led the American attack with two goals, while Cutter Gauthier and Mason Lohrei contributed a goal and an assist each. Logan Cooley also made his presence felt on the scoreboard in this Group B encounter.
Michael Kesselring had two assists, and goaltender Joey Daccord shone by recording 26 saves to secure the shutout.
Any time a goalie gets a shutout it’s a team result.
Joey Daccord
Gauthier opened the scoring from the attacking zone with 2:08 remaining in the first period. Cooley extended the lead on a power play, Beniers added a goal after a rebound in the middle period, and Lohrei made it 4-0 midway through the final period. Beniers closed out his performance with a second goal, scored with a powerful shot, at 3:44 of the end.
Sweden delights its fans
In Stockholm, Sweden gave Slovakia no chances, defeating them 5-0 in front of their home crowd in Group A.
Mikael Backlund, Leo Carlsson, and Jonas Brodin scored goals in a span of 8:37 in the second part of the first period, establishing a 3-0 lead for Sweden.
Elias Lindholm extended the lead to 4-0 in the second period, and Mika Zibanejad sealed the victory in the final period. Backlund and Lindholm also added an assist each.
Sweden won the championship the last time it was held in Stockholm, in 2013.
Czech Republic Wins in Extra Time
The reigning champion, Czech Republic, defeated Switzerland 5-4 in overtime in a rematch of last year’s final.
Roman Cervenka scored the winning goal at 2:30 of overtime, from the left circle, after an assist from David Pastrnak. Lukas Sedlak, from the Czech Republic, tied the game at 4 with a rebound on a power play at 3:47 of the end, forcing the extra time.Matej Stransky, Filip Zadina, and Filip Pyrochta also scored for the Czechs, who defeated the Swiss 2-0 in last year’s final in Prague. Christian Marti, Damien Riat, Sandro Schmid, and Sven Andrighetto scored for Switzerland.
In Stockholm, Finland defeated Austria 2-1.
The tournament is the last men’s international test event before the 2026 Winter Games in Italy, where NHL players will return to the Olympics after 12 years.
