US beats Austria to set up a
quarterfinal against unbeaten Canada at ice hockey worlds
[May 27, 2026]
ZURICH (AP) — The United States set up a quarterfinal showdown with
fierce rival Canada at the ice hockey world championship by beating
Austria 4-1 on Tuesday.
The U.S. and Canada met in the final at the Milan Cortina Olympics
in February, when the Americans prevailed 2-1 in overtime to take
the gold medal.
Connor Clifton, Ryan Ufko, Paul Cotter and Matthew Tkachuk scored
against Austria, and Will Borgen registered two assists. Devin
Cooley made 25 saves in net.
The victory lifted the defending champion to fourth place in Group
A. That means it next faces Canada, which topped Group B.
"I liked our game overall and thought our goaltending was
excellent,” U.S. head coach Don Granato said. “We look forward to
the challenge ahead in facing Canada on Thursday.”
The remaining quarterfinal pairs are: Switzerland vs. Sweden;
Finland vs. Czechia; and Norway vs. Latvia.
Clifton found the top corner of the net 5:34 into the game and
fellow defenseman Ufko doubled the advantage for the U.S. by
one-timing a slap shot from the point 45 seconds later.
Cotter made it 3-0 just 67 seconds into the middle period before
Tkachuk buried a rebound on power play at 31:52. It was Tkachuk's
fourth goal in four games since he joined the team last week.
Simeon Schwinger scored for Austria, which finished sixth.
Canada unbeaten
Macklin Celebrini scored two goals as Canada rallied past Czechia
3-2 to complete the preliminary stage with seven wins from seven
(one in overtime).
John Tavares scored the winner in the third period. Sidney Crosby
and Parker Wotherspoon contributed two assists each.
Canada won Group B in Fribourg with 20 points followed by Norway and
the Czechs.
The Czechs went ahead 2-0 after a first-period goal from Marek
Alscher and another by Dominik Kubalík 8:18 into the middle period.
Crosby set up Celebrini to start the rally from the slot with 5:58
remaining in the second. Crosby then found Celebrini unmarked to
score his second to tie it at 2-2 with his fifth tournament goal
7:14 into the third. Tavares netted a backhander for the winner.
[to top of second column] |
USA's players celebrate their side's third goal during the 2026 IIHF
Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match
between United States and Austria in Zurich, Switzerland, Tuesday,
May 26, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)
Perfect hosts
In Zurich, Ken Jager scored his second goal on a power play with
3:13 to go in host Switzerland's 4-2 win over Finland.
Switzerland, with seven straight wins and all in regulation,
dominated Group A with 21 points, three more than Finland.
Attilio Biasca and Jager gave the Swiss an early 2-0 advantage
before Finland's Aleksander Barkov scored twice in the second
period.
After Jager's second, Nico Hischier added an empty-netter.
Sweden, Latvia advance
Sweden, the bronze medalist from the last two editions, beat
Slovakia 4-2 in Fribourg.
Ivar Stenberg, a top prospect for next month's NHL draft, scored the
winning goal, Anton Frondell and Jakob Silfverberg had goal apiece
and Oliver Ekman-Larsson sealed the win with an empty-net score.
Sweden clinched fourth place while Slovakia finished fifth and
didn't advance.
Latvia reached the quarterfinals by routing Hungary 8-1, moving to
third place in Group A. Germany dropped to fifth and is eliminated.
Norway, which has already qualified for the last eight for the first
time since 2012, needed overtime to down Denmark 4-3 in Group B
action in Fribourg.
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