Defending champion United States rebounded from a loss to Switzerland with a 5-1 victory over tournament newcomer Britain in a preliminary Group A game in Zurich, the report says.
Isaac Howard scored twice, Paul Cotter and Mathieu Olivier each had three points and Declan Carlile had a goal and an assist for the Americans, per the report. Goaltender Devin Cooley made 18 saves for the U.S., the report adds.
The scoring opened when Cotter broke the deadlock 13:55 into the game by knocking in a puck from close range, the report says. Nathanael Halbert tied it for Britain midway through the middle period on a power play with a shot through heavy traffic. Howard restored a 2-1 lead for the Americans with an unassisted goal with 2:59 remaining in the period by exploiting a defensive blunder, the report says.
Early in the final period Olivier and Carlile scored 15 seconds apart to push the advantage to 4-1; Olivier netted a rebound while Carlile converted on a deflected shot from the blue line. Howard added his second on a power play with 3:49 left, the report says. The report notes Howard and Mason Lohrei are the two players on the U.S. roster who lifted the trophy last year.
The Americans next play Finland on Monday and will be boosted Tuesday by the arrival of Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, a member of the U.S. gold-winning team at the Milan Cortina Olympics, the report says. Britain, a newcomer to the top division, fell to its second straight defeat, the report adds.
Elsewhere at the worlds, Slovakia downed another newcomer, Italy, 4-1 in Group B in Fribourg for its second victory, the report says. Later Sunday in Fribourg, last year’s bronze-medal winner Sweden faces Denmark and Norway plays Slovenia, while in Zurich Austria plays Hungary and Germany takes on Latvia, per the report.
