HERNING, Denmark — The United States secured their second consecutive shutout victory at the ice hockey world championship on Sunday, overwhelmingly defeating newcomer Hungary by a score of 6-0.
Also on Sunday, Canada achieved their second win in as many games, comprehensively beating Latvia 7-1.
For the Americans in their Group B match in Herning, key contributions came from Frank Nazar with two goals and an assist, Cutter Gauthier who also netted twice, and both Conor Garland and Logan Cooley who each contributed a goal and an assist.
Nazar initiated the scoring with a deflection of a Logan Cooley shot at the 5:53 mark of the first period. He quickly followed up with his second goal just 2:47 later, scoring from behind the net off Hungarian goalie Adam Vay.
The 21-year-old Chicago Blackhawks forward commented, “It felt really good, obviously. There’s nothing like scoring a goal and getting that feeling, especially after the NHL season’s over, continuing to score and just build that confidence and feel good out there on the ice.”
Midway through the second period, Gauthier extended the lead to 3-0 with a shot from the right circle.
The final period saw two quick goals just 41 seconds apart.
Gauthier scored his second goal 1:13 into the period, followed shortly by Garland netting the fifth goal from close range.
Cooley sealed the 6-0 victory by scoring into an empty net.
American goaltender Jeremy Swayman stopped all 13 shots he faced to earn the shutout.
This shutout followed the U.S.`s initial 5-0 victory over Denmark. Their next challenge is against Switzerland on Monday.
Canada Secures Second Victory
In Group A action in Stockholm, Canada`s offense was led by Travis Konecny with two goals and an assist, Kent Johnson also with two goals, while Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini, and Barrett Hayton each added a single goal.
Captain Sidney Crosby registered his first three assists of the tournament, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 16 shots.
This tournament marks Crosby`s third appearance at the World Championships, his first since captaining the gold-medal winning team in 2015.
Latvia`s Eduards Tralmaks briefly put his team ahead, scoring with a wrist shot just 7:05 into the game on the first shot faced by the 40-year-old Fleury, who was making his tournament debut.
However, Canada quickly responded, with Konecny and MacKinnon scoring just 61 seconds apart to take the lead.
Konecny tied the game at the 9:30 mark of the first period by redirecting a Travis Sanheim pass. MacKinnon then scored from in front of the net following a pass from Bo Horvat.
Kent Johnson extended Canada`s lead in the second period, first with a backhand shot at 7:11, then adding his second goal midway through the period with a wrist shot from the slot past goalie Gustavs Grigals.
Konecny scored a shorthanded goal with only 24 seconds left in the second period, making the score 5-1.
Macklin Celebrini scored from the left circle, and Barrett Hayton completed the scoring with a slap shot in the final period.
Canada`s next game is against France on Tuesday.
In other Sunday results from Herning, Germany defeated Kazakhstan 4-1.
From Stockholm, Slovakia earned their first win in Group A, beating fellow newcomer Slovenia 3-1.
Later Sunday, Finland was scheduled to play France in Stockholm, and the Czech Republic was set to face Norway in Herning.
Tristan Blackwood