USA put five past Britain as Slovakia roll on with victory over Italy

GB's Ben Davies battles with Matt Coronato, left, for the puck
GB's Ben Davies battles with Matt Coronato, left, for the puckDenis Balibouse / Reuters

The USA continued their fine start to the 2026 IIHF World Championships with a convincing 5-1 win over Great Britain in Group A to start proceedings on day three in Switzerland, as Slovakia made it two from two with victory over Italy.

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USA show quality against lowly Great Britain despite scare

Midway through the second period against Great Britain, the US team would have been worrying about an embarrassing upset, but a late rally showed their character in a 5-1 win.

Things did start well for the reigning champions, with Paul Cotter netting early, but GB stunned them to level.

They took advantage of a power-play to see Nathanael Halbert score his first of the tournament and give his side something to celebrate.

Parity lasted nine minutes with Isaac Howard scoring three minutes before the second break of the game. He would bookend the rest of the scoring, with Mathieu Olivier and Declan Carlile also getting in on the act.

Slovakia continue good start against Italy

Slovakia made it two wins from two with a 4-1 victory against Group B's bottom side Italy to keep up their march towards the knockout stages.

Yesterday's match winner, Marek Hrivik, got the ball rolling in the first period before Jozef Kmec opened up a two-goal cushion against an Italy side that struggled to get into the contest.

Kristian Pospisil, another who scored in their previous game against Norway, continued his hot streak to make it 3-0 at the start of the final period. Italy did pick up a consolation through Gabriel Nitz, but Oliver Okuilar was on hand to score a power-play goal and end any hopes of a comeback.

Later on Sunday, Denmark take on Sweden in an all-Scandinavian affair, whilst neighbours Norway look to pick up their first win of the campaign from 20:20 CET against Slovenia