Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) skates against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) skates against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
In their opening game of the 2026 IIHF World Championships on Friday, Team USA suffered an upset loss at the hands of hosts Switzerland with a 3-1 score line.
The Group A game saw goaltender Leonardo Genoni pull off an incredible performance to keep the United States down to just one goal.
At the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, Genoni made 19 saves for Switzerland in front of a rocking home crowd of around 10,000, to give them the perfect start in the World Championships.
The Swiss had the St. Louis Blues forward, Pius Suter, on the offensive, who played a key role in their victory.
Suter scored the opening goal of the contest at the net front with a backhand shot in the first period before assisting Sven Andrighetto to give Switzerland a 2-0 lead.
After a goalless second period, Team USA came back with 11:15 left on the clock in the final period when Boston Bruins forward Alex Steeves scored.
But Switzerland dealt the final blow with just 3:39 remaining, with Ken Jager scoring the third goal on the day for the hosts, to put the game beyond the visitors.
With that, Switzerland earned a valuable three points in Group A of the 2026 Worlds. They also improved their record slightly against Team USA in ice hockey, increasing the number of regulation wins to nine, apart from one overtime win.
The Swiss have lost 17 games in regulation time and once in overtime versus the Americans. The 1-0 defeat in overtime came in the final of the 2025 IIHF World Championships in Stockholm at Avicii Arena.
Team USA will battle Finland in their second game at the 2026 IIHF World Championships
Team USA is slated to battle Finland in their second game of the 2026 IIHF World Championships in Group A on Monday, May 18, at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.
Team USA faces Finland in its second Group A match on Monday, May 18.
The Finnish side has already earned two victories in the Worlds, to find themselves on top of the group standings with six points, with wins over Germany and Hungary at 3-1 and 4-1 respectively.
While the United States hasn’t had the best start, they have a stacked roster to get things in order. Team USA is captained by veteran defenseman Justin Faulk, who is making his fourth Worlds appearance, while Ryan Lindgren and Mathieu Olivier are the alternate captains.
Ahead of their first game of the Worlds, the new US HC, Don Granato, had spoken about how the team is excited to get going despite not having much preparation time.
"It’s been fun to see how our group has come together in a short period of time, and we look forward to the challenge ahead.”
Before taking on host Switzerland in their tournament opener, Team USA had only played one practice game in which they beat Germany 5-2 on May 10.
With just days remaining before their next game against Finland, they are waiting for the Florida Panthers winger, Matthew Tkachuk, to join the squad.
Do you think Team USA can regroup and clinch a comeback victory against Finland? Let us know in the comments.
Written by
Arjun Sharma
Edited by
Surjo Ray