Team USA secured their passage to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Ice Hockey World Championships in Czechia. Johnny Gaudreau and Matt Boldy had four assists each as they thumped Kazakhstan 10-1.
Tkatchuk scored a hattrick while there were goals from Boldy, Gaudreau, Brock Nelson, Luke Kunin, Gavin Brindley and Kevin Hayes. Meanwhile, Alex Nedeljkovic made 13 saves.
For Kazakhstan Alikhan Omirbekov scored the consolation goal. This win puts USA second in the group behind only Sweden and they still have to play Lativia on 21 May. There is a high chance USA may secure second spot in Group B and set. Here we take a look at their possible opponents in the last eight.
If USA finishes 2nd
A win over Latvia on Tuesday will mean USA seal the second spot. This would also mean a playoff clash against the third placed team from Group A. It is likely that Canada will secure the top spot in Group A and hence USA would avoid them. Right now Canada sit top of the Group A with 17 points.
As such USA’s possible opponents, if they finish second include the hosts Czechia or Switzerland. Both games will be tricky, but something USA will be happy to tackle.
If USA finishes 3rd
On the other, USA will face one of the same opponents even if they finish third. The best case scenario will be to end up in the second spot and hope that the hosts hold on to their second place, so as to avoid facing them in front of a expectant home crowd.
If USA finishes 4th
The scenario can change drastically for USA if they finish 4th. This would lead to a clash with Canada, the defending champions. The USA-Canada matches are always on the knife’s edge and so avoiding their rivals early in the tournament will be crucial.
This will be especially important since USA will be looking to do better than the last edition of the World Championships.
How did Team USA fare in the 2023 Worlds event?
In 2023, the IIHF World Championship was held in Finland and Latvia. Team USA finished the top of Group A ahead of Sweden to set up a clash with Czechia in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. progressed to the last four for the third straight year with a 3-0 win. However, their hopes of adding a second World title were ended when they fell to Germany, 4-3, in the semifinals.
Not only this, they then lost to Latvia in the bronze medal game to finish in fourth place.
Sherjeel Malik is the editor at FanHaat with a writing experience in multiple sports. He oversees the editorial and content coverage at FanHaat and writes often around combat sports, football and other marquee sports. A professional highlight of his career was when WWE’s Paul Heyman shared one of his articles on his social media.
Apart from writing, editing and watching sports, he likes to indulge in reading fiction, watching war documentaries and is a fan of Liverpool FC
