#latvia-hockey

#latvia-hockey

"You are playing in front of a sold-out crowd at Allianz, you have just won a World Cup, and the next minute you are back playing over the road in front of a slither of the amount of people."

Eoin Kenny's performance drew applause from the Oriel Park crowd, creating a memorable moment for his family during the match.

Kenny McLean launched a shot 50 yards through the night sky and into the back of Kasper Schmeichel's net to seal Scotland's place at the men's World Cup this summer, their first since France 1998.

The contest was not without some drama, as the first period included two successful coach's challenges from Latvia that wiped U.S. goals off the board. After that, however, the ice seemed to tilt the Americans' way, and goals from Tage Thompson, Auston Matthews and a pair from Brock Nelson were the difference. Here's what we learned in the opener, along with an overall team grade and big questions to ponder prior to Team USA's matchup against Denmark on Saturday.

The men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games is underway and many fans are hoping to see the exciting feat of scoring three goals in a single game, better known as a hat trick. "I'm curious to see over in Italy for the Olympics, if we'll see a hat trick to begin with, and then second will people throw their hats?" said Ty Di Lello, a hockey historian based in Winnipeg, Canada. The international sporting event will mark the return of National Hockey League players after a 12 year absence.

Entering Saturday's action, Sweden needed to win by three goals or greater to secure the top place in Group B. Slovakia won its previous two games, and held a commanding divisional lead. Dalibor Dvorsky scored for Slovakia with 39 seconds left, to preserve its entry into the quarterfinal. If Finland defeats Italy in regulation, Slovakia will capture Group B. Any other result, and Sweden will win the group.

In mid-January, it was announced that the Stanley Cup would be making an appearance at the Lac La Ronge Indian Band communities of north-central Saskatchewan. The appearance was announced as part of a joint effort with the Jonas Robert Memorial Community Centre, the municipality's sports and culture facility, and Inspire 365 to promote mental health and community engagement through hockey.

For the first time since 2014, NHL players from the United States will be competing at the Olympic Games. Team USA's opening matchup of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games is against Latvia, a team that features several current and former NHL players as well. The U.S. is led by arguably the strongest collection of talent to ever represent the country in international best-on-best competition, including a 1-2 punch of Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel at center, do-everything defensemen like Quinn Hughes,

Canada (no. 1 seed), USA (no. 2), Slovakia (no. 3), and Finland (no. 4) all earned byes to the quarterfinals, where they'll await the winners of Tuesday's play-in games. Canada and the United States were the only two teams to go undefeated in their three preliminary round games. Canada got the number one seed by winning their three games a combined 20-3, just edging out the USA's combined scores of 17-5.

Since that year's Winter Olympics, the team has seen a slow yet pronounced decline in its overall performance. In the four editions of Olympic hockey following that 2006 tournament, Sweden lost the bronze medal game twice (2010, 2014), finished seventh in 2018 and finished eighth in 2022. That 2022 finish marked the Swedes' worst performance yet in an Olympic women's hockey tournament.

Thursday marks the second day of the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympics in Milan Cortina. On Wednesday, Slovakia stunned the hockey world by defeating Finland 4-1 in the first game of the tournament. Then, Sweden survived a spirited effort from the host Italians, winning 5-2 after allowing the opening goal in the first period. With four games on the schedule on Thursday, that means eight teams are in action, consisting of all four from Groups A and C.

Ovechkin, along with his wife, Nastya, and his two children, Sergei and Ilya, vacationed in Dubai along with some of his extended family and friends. "Break was great," the 40-year-old Ovechkin said after Tuesday's skate. "Kind of a long flight, but worth it. Some times with family, friends. Don't think about hockey, don't think about the world." There was one other thing Ovechkin didn't think about. When asked if he had been watching the Olympics at all, Ovechkin replied "no" and ended the press conference.

For the first time in twelve years, Germany's women's hockey team will be playing at the Winter Olympics. When Germany last contested the women's hockey event at the Winter Olympics, the team finished third in Group B before securing seventh place courtesy of the 5th-8th place bracket. Since that 2014 Winter Olympics, Germany was relegated and then promoted back to the IIHF Women's World Championship.

Team USA captain Auston Matthews had a solid Olympic debut on Thursday night against Latvia. The Toronto Maple Leafs star scored a power play goal in the third period to lift the American side to a 5-1 rout. Matthews, who had been the subject of some mild scrutiny heading into the Olympics, was sharp overall. He played a solid two-way game, leading the USA's second line with Jake Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild.

Six automatic bids to the NCAA tournament will be awarded to the winners of the six conference tournaments, with championship games scheduled for March 20 and 21. Ten more teams will earn at-large spots determined by the NPI formula, which replaces the PairWise rankings this season. Every game can impact the NPI rankings, which factor in strength of schedule, home/road splits and overtime results.