RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist and the United States won its fourth straight game in the world hockey championship, beating Norway 2-1 on Saturday.
Jake Oettinger made 22 saves and Conor Garland also scored. The Americans are second in Group B, a point behind Finland — which beat the U.S. in the opener — with two games left. The top four teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals.
“We got down to the wire in the end, and good push by Norway,” Thompson said. “Our expectation is gold, you don’t expect anything less. That’s what we came here for.”
Ken Andre Olimb scored for Norway.
Finland beat fourth-place Germany 2-1, with Arttu Ruotsalainen breaking a tie midway through the third period.
Also in Group B, Roman Starchenko had two goals and three assists in Kazakhstan's 11-3 victory over Italy.
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1of14Norway's goaltender Henrik Haukeland fails to stop a goal by Conor Garland of the US during the Ice Hockey World Championship group B match between Norway and United States at the Arena in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Sergei Grits/APShow MoreShow Less2of14Ryan Donato of the US, centre, challenges for the puck with Norway's goaltender Henrik Haukeland, left, and Norway's Stefan Espeland during the Ice Hockey World Championship group B match between Norway and United States at the Arena in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Sergei Grits/APShow MoreShow Less3of144of14Christian Wolanin of the US, centre, challenges for the puck with Norway's Emilio Pettersen during the Ice Hockey World Championship group B match between Norway and United States at the Arena in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Sergei Grits/APShow MoreShow Less5of14Players of Slovakia team celebrate during the Ice Hockey World Championship group A match between the Denmark and Slovakia at the Olympic Sports Center in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Oksana Dzadan/APShow MoreShow Less6of147of14Peter Cehlarik of Slovakia celebrates scoring a goal during the Ice Hockey World Championship group A match between the Denmark and Slovakia at the Olympic Sports Center in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Oksana Dzadan/APShow MoreShow Less8of14Jesper Jensen Aabo of Denmark, right, and Samuel Knazko of Slovakia battle for the puck during the Ice Hockey World Championship group A match between the Denmark and Slovakia at the Olympic Sports Center in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Oksana Dzadan/APShow MoreShow Less9of1410of14Finland's Hannes Bjorninen, left, tries to score against Germany's goaltender Mathias Niederberger during the Ice Hockey World Championship group B match between Germany and Finland at the Arena in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Sergei Grits/APShow MoreShow Less11of14Jason Robertson of the US, left, challenges for the puck with Norway's Tommy Kristiansen during the Ice Hockey World Championship group B match between Norway and United States at the Arena in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Sergei Grits/APShow MoreShow Less12of1413of14Sergei Tolchinski, right, and Anton Slepyshev of Russia celebrate during the Ice Hockey World Championship group A match between the Switzerland and Russia at the Olympic Sports Center in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021.Roman Koksarov/APShow MoreShow Less14of14
Russia and Slovakia each won to remain tied for the Group A lead.
Sergei Tolchinski had a goal and an assist in a third-period burst in Russia's 4-1 victory over Switzerland, and Julius Hudacek made 24 saves in Slovakia's 2-0 victory over Denmark.
Also, Libor Sulak scored twice in the Czech Republic's 2-1 victory over Britain.
