The United States stayed alive in the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship with a 7-3 win over Hungary on Monday.
The U.S. squad will now look to advance to the tournament quarterfinals in a Tuesday matchup with Austria to wrap up the preliminary round.
Here’s a closer look at Monday’s action as well as the updated group standings for the event.
Monday Scores
Germany def. Great Britain, 6-3
Group Standings
Teams receive three points for regulation wins and two points for overtime victories. They’re also given one point for overtime losses. The top four teams in each group will move on to the knockout stage.
- Switzerland (18 points, 6-0)
- Finland (18 points, 6-0)
- Germany (10 points, 3-4 with 1 OTL)
- Austria (9 points, 3-3)
- Latvia (9 points, 3-3)
- United States (8 points, 3-3 with 1 OTW)
- Hungary (3 points, 1-5)
- Great Britain (0 points, 0-7)
- Canada (17 points, 6-0 with 1 OTW)
- Norway (13 points, 4-2 with 1 OTL)
- Czechia (13 points, 4-2 with 1 OTL)
- Slovakia (11 points, 4-2 with 1 OTW)
- Sweden (9 points, 3-3)
- Slovenia (6 points, 2-5 with 1 OTW and 1 OTL)
- Denmark (5 points, 2-4 with 1 OTW)
- Italy (1 point, 0-7 with 1 OTL)
Monday Highlights
Led by two-goal performances from both Justin Faulk and Ryan Leonard, the United States wrapped up a dominant victory over Hungary.
The U.S. squad jumped out to a 4-0 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining in the second period after Faulk tallied his second goal of the day.
While Hungary responded with a goal from Csanád Erdély shortly afterwards, Team USA still held a 5-1 advantage through two periods following Leonard’s first goal.
Tommy Novak showcased his playmaking abilities throughout the United States’ lopsided win, finishing with five assists.
Norway punched its ticket to the quarterfinals with an impressive defensive performance against Czechia.
The Norwegian team took an early 2-0 lead, as Håvard Østrem Salsten and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård both scored within the first seven minutes of the opening period.
Czechia responded with a goal from Jaroslav Chmelař before the first period came to a close, but it would ultimately be held scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
Meanwhile, Martin Rønnild and Brandsegg-Nygård picked up goals in the third period to give Norway more breathing room in the win.
Norwegian goaltender Henrik Haukeland made 13 saves during the contest.
Germany def. Great Britain, 6-3
Germany set the tone early in the game, racking up three goals in the first period.
The German team didn’t show many signs of slowing down in the second, as Andreas Eder scored from the slot to push the advantage to 4-0.
Great Britain captain Robert Dowd gave his team some life with a goal just before the second period came to a close, but Germany quickly extended its lead to 6-1 early in the third.
While Great Britain scored two more goals before the final buzzer sounded, it wasn’t enough to come back.
After a scoreless first period, Italy took a 1-0 lead following Phil Pietroniro’s goal early in the second.
The excitement was short-lived, though.
Slovenia responded with three goals before the second period ended to lead 3-1 heading into the third. Matic Török was responsible for the first goal before Jan Drozg scored the next two.
Italy couldn’t recover, as the Slovenian squad racked up a pair of goals in the third period to cement the win.
Goaltender Lukas Horak put together a strong performance in Slovenia’s victory, finishing with 20 saves. Marcel Mahkovec was also a key contributor in the win, picking up three assists.