The defending champion United States bounced back from a loss to Switzerland with a 5-1 victory over tournament newcomer Britain in Group A in Zurich, led by Isaac Howard’s two goals.
ZURICH — The United States didn’t stumble for long after an opening defeat to Switzerland. In its latest Group A game at the ice hockey world championship, the defending champion answered with a 5-1 win over tournament newcomer Britain on Sunday.
Isaac Howard drove the rebound with two goals. Paul Cotter and Mathieu Olivier each finished with three points, and Declan Carlile added a goal and an assist. In the U.S. net, Devin Cooley made 18 saves for the Americans.
Cotter broke the deadlock 13:55 into the Group A contest, snapping the tie from close range. Nathanael Halbert leveled it for Britain midway through the middle period, scoring on a power play with a shot through heavy traffic.
The U.S. regained control before the period ended. Howard restored a 2-1 lead with an unassisted goal with 2:59 remaining, capitalizing after a defensive blunder. Early in the final period, Olivier and Carlile struck 15 seconds apart to push the advantage to 4-1.
Olivier scored on a rebound, while Carlile added a deflected shot from the blue line. Howard then sealed the win with his second goal on a power play at 3:49 left.
Howard is one of two players on the roster, along with Mason Lohrei, who lifted the trophy last year. Cooley and the team will now shift focus quickly: the Americans next play Finland on Monday.
On Tuesday, they are set to be boosted by the arrival of Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, a member of the U.S. gold-winning team at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Britain, meanwhile, absorbed its second straight defeat after entering the top division this year.
In the same Group A action, Austria beat Hungary 4-2 for its second win of the tournament. Further north, in Fribourg, Sweden recovered from a 5-3 loss to Canada in the opening game by demolishing Denmark 6-2 in Group B.
That result served as a rematch of last year’s bronze medal game, which Sweden also won 6-2.. Raymond Lucas sparked the Swedes with a goal and two assists.. Viggo Bjorck. at 18 years old. scored on a power play to become the youngest Swedish player to score at worlds and added an assist.. Another 18-year-old, Ivar Stenberg, also contributed with two assists, with both named among the top prospects for the 2026 NHL draft.
Mattias Ekholm, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jakob Silfverberg and Linus Karlsson also scored for Sweden.
In Fribourg, Slovakia downed another newcomer, Italy, 4-1 for its second victory at worlds. Later Sunday, Norway plays Slovenia in Fribourg and Germany takes on Latvia in Zurich.
ice hockey world championship United States Britain Isaac Howard Devin Cooley Mathieu Olivier Paul Cotter Declan Carlile Matthew Tkachuk Zurich Fribourg Austria Hungary Sweden Denmark Slovakia Italy