Finns hand U.S. first loss at hockey worlds

HERNING, Denmark — Finland, led by Sebastian Aho's hat trick, handed the United States its first defeat at the ice hockey world championship in a 6-2 thumping on Tuesday.

Also, defending champion Sweden edged Russia 3-1 in a battle for the top spot in Group A in Copenhagen. The Swedes won all seven preliminary-round games and will next play Latvia, which earned the last quarterfinal berth by edging Denmark 1-0.

The Finns supplanted the U.S. to top Group B, and will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Swiss clinched a quarterfinal spot by beating France 5-1 to finish fourth in Group A in Copenhagen.

Canada shut out Germany 3-0 to secure third place in Group B and set up a matchup against Russia.

The Americans' first defeat in seven games dropped them to second in the group and a quarterfinal against the Czech Republic, the third team in Group A.

College basketball: Syracuse signed Robert Braswell, a 6-foot-9 forward from Blythewood High School in South Carolina, to a national letter of intent. He averaged 16 points and eight rebounds as a senior.

Cycling: Overall leader Simon Yates gained three bonus seconds in the 10th stage of the Giro d'Italia but it was a difficult day for his Mitchelton-Scott team as Esteban Chaves dropped out of contention. Slovenian rider Matej Mohoric edged Nico Denz in a two-man sprint to win the stage.

NFL: The Carolina Panthers are being sold for an NFL-record $2.2 billion. Hedge fund manager David Tepper has agreed to buy the Panthers from team founder Jerry Richardson, according to reports. The purchase is subject to a vote at the NFL owners meeting next week in Atlanta. The price tag is the most ever paid for an NFL franchise, eclipsing the $1.4 billion the Pegula family paid to purchase the Bills in 2014.

— Wire reports