Team USA Defeated by Finland in Men’s World Championship Preliminary Stage
ZURICH, Switzerland – The U.S. Men’s National Team suffered a 6-2 defeat against Finland today in its third preliminary round match of the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship, with an attendance of 9,206 at Swiss Life Arena.
“We’re clearly disappointed, but we have a determined group and we will learn from this experience as we progress,” stated Don Granato, head coach of the 2026 U.S. Men’s National Team.
HIGHLIGHTS
Finland opened the scoring at 6:06 into the game when Lenni Hameenaho forced a turnover in the neutral zone, advanced the puck across the blue line, and scored with a shot from the top of the left circle.
At 7:44 of the first period, Oliver Moore (Mounds View, Minn./Chicago Blackhawks) retrieved the puck behind the U.S. net, maneuvered past several Finnish defenders into the offensive zone, and delivered a cross-ice pass to Matt Coronato (Greenlawn, N.Y./Calgary Flames) at the left circle, who executed a one-timer to equalize the score.
Just over a minute later, Patrik Puistola received a pass at the point and scored with a shot from the slot, putting Finland ahead 2-1 at 8:45 of the first.
With 5:50 remaining in the opening period, Aatu Raty entered the U.S. zone and scored with a wrist shot from the top of the circles, extending Finland’s lead to 3-1.
Early in the second period, Hameenaho scored on a one-timer from the right circle during a power play, increasing Finland’s lead to 4-1 just 1:26 into the frame.
Only 31 seconds later, Saku Maenalanen redirected a pass over U.S. goaltender Joseph Woll‘s (St. Louis, Mo./Toronto Maple Leafs) glove from the top of the crease, further extending Finland’s advantage.
Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass./Washington Capitals) narrowed the gap to 5-2 at the 3:21 mark of the third period by capitalizing on a rebound chance from the slot off a shot by Ryan Ufko (Smithtown, N.Y./Milwaukee Admirals) during a five-on-three power play.
Anton Lundell scored a power play goal off a rebound with 13:27 left in the game, bringing the score to 6-2, which would be the final score of the match.
Woll recorded five saves in the first 21:57 of play, while Devin Cooley (Los Gatos, Calif./Calgary Flames) made 17 saves in the subsequent 38:03.
Team USA will return to the ice on Wednesday (May 20) for its fourth preliminary round game against Germany. The puck drop is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast live on NHL Network.
NOTES: The U.S. outshot Finland, 32-28 … Team USA converted 1-3 on the power play, while Finland was 2-5 … Matt Coronato was named the U.S. Player of the Game.
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