MILAN, Italy – Team USA opened its 2026 Olympic men’s hockey campaign with a dominant 5-1 victory over Latvia on Thursday, overcoming early challenges and a determined Latvian defense to assert its dominance in the group stage.
The Americans, considered by many to be a gold medal contender, initially struggled to break through Latvia’s resistance. Brady Tkachuk scored the opening goal just under five and a half minutes into the first period, assisted by his brother Matthew, but two potential U.S. Goals were subsequently disallowed due to offsides and goaltender interference challenges successfully mounted by the Latvian team. Renars Krastenbergs then equalized for Latvia, tying the score at 1-1.
The second period marked a turning point, as the U.S. Team unleashed a relentless offensive attack. Brock Nelson scored twice, including a goal he emphatically confirmed was valid after the earlier challenges, and Tage Thompson added a power-play goal to extend the lead to 4-1. “I mean just an unbelievable experience. I endeavor to soak it all in,” Nelson said, noting his family’s Olympic history, which includes his grandfather Bill Christian, a 1960 gold medalist, and uncle Dave Christian, a member of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team.
Latvian goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who stopped 28 of 32 shots, was replaced by Arturs Silovs after the second period. “If that guy wouldn’t score, probably the other guy would score due to the fact that I felt completely two open guys and it’s hard to save something like that,” Merzlikins said after being pulled.
The U.S. Continued to press in the third period, with captain Auston Matthews scoring a power-play goal to make it 5-1. Connor Hellebuyck, in net for the U.S., stopped 17 of 18 shots.
The victory followed a similar dominant performance by Canada, which defeated Czechia 5-0 earlier in the day. “Here’s the Olympics,” said U.S. Coach Mike Sullivan. “This is tight. Italy and Sweden were tied for 40 minutes yesterday. So we know better than to underestimate our opponents.”
Key contributors for the U.S. Included the Tkachuk brothers, Jack Eichel (with two assists), the Hughes brothers (also with two assists each), and Nelson. Sullivan praised the team’s energy and resilience, stating, “They were great. The energy on the bench is terrific. ‘We’re going to be fine.’ And, of course, we were.”
The U.S. Team will next face Denmark on Saturday, February 14, and Germany on Sunday, February 15. The status of backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who dressed in place of Jake Oettinger, remains uncertain for those games.
