Team USA Loses to Latvia, 4-2, in Men’s World Championship Preliminary Match

By Oliver Grant On May 23, 2026 23

ZURICH, Switzerland – In a match where the U.S. Men’s National Team outshot Latvia 47-22, they suffered a 4-2 defeat in front of 9,184 spectators at Swiss Life Arena during their fifth preliminary round game of the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship today.

Haralds Egle initiated the scoring at 8:47 of the first period, receiving a pass from Martins Dzierkals in the slot and firing a wrist shot past U.S. goaltender Devin Cooley (Los Gatos, Calif./Calgary Flames).

Latvia maintained a 1-0 lead at the first intermission, despite being outshot 18-5 in the opening 20 minutes.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo./Florida Panthers) equalized on the power play at 14:48 of the second period, redirecting a shot from Oliver Moore (Mounds View, Minn./Chicago Blackhawks) past Kristers Gudlevskis for his first goal of the tournament.

Deniss Smirnovs restored Latvia’s lead at 6:06 of the third period, converting a rebound opportunity to put his team ahead 2-1.

Cooley made a crucial save against Rudolfs Balcers with 6:42 remaining in regulation, denying a breakaway chance.

Tkachuk came close to scoring his second of the game on a rebound attempt with 1:48 left, but was unable to push the puck past a cluster of Latvian defenders while Cooley was pulled for an extra attacker.

Sandis Vilmanis scored into an empty net, extending Latvia’s lead to two goals with 1:02 to go.

Mathieu Olivier (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Blue Jackets) narrowed the gap to one with 50 seconds remaining, firing a shot past Gudlevskis from the slot after receiving a pass from Tkachuk.

Vilmanis added another empty net goal nine seconds later, finalizing the score at 4-2 in favor of Latvia.

Team USA will return to the ice on Monday (May 25) for their sixth preliminary round match against Hungary. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:20 p.m. (10:20 a.m. ET) and will be broadcast live on NHL Network and streamed on the NHL YouTube Channel.

NOTES: Matthew Tkachuk was awarded U.S. Player of the Game … Team USA outshot Latvia, 47-22 … The U.S. converted 1-4 on the power play, while Latvia was 0-3.

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