The United States will try to stay alive at the men’s World Hockey Championship in Switzerland as they take on Austria on Tuesday.
The Americans sit in fifth place in Group A in the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 2-1-0-3 record and need a win over Austria to advance to the knockout stage.
They find themselves in this position after losses to Switzerland, Finland, and Latvia earlier in the round-robin, and they also needed a shootout to defeat Germany.
USA handedly defeated Great Britain 5-1 in their second game of the tournament and are coming off a commanding 7-3 victory over Hungary on Monday.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tommy Novak leads the U.S. in scoring at the tournament with a goal and seven points, including five assists on Monday against Hungary.
Superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk added two goals and four points against Hungary, bringing his point total to six in only three games.
Tkachuk was a member of the United States’ team at Milano Cortina 2026 that won their first Olympic gold medal since 1980. This is his first time representing the United States at the World Hockey Championship.
He is looking to become the first American to join the Triple-Gold Club, a group that own an Olympic gold medal, Stanley Cup, and a World Hockey Championship.
The United States are the defending champions of this tournament, ending a 92-year drought last year. There are only three players returning from last year’s championship squad: Edmonton Oilers forward Isaac Howard, Calgary Flames goaltender Devin Cooley, and Boston Bruins defenceman Mason Lohrei.
Austria enters Tuesday’s action in third place in Group A with a 3-0-0-3 record. Their wins came against Great Britain, Hungary, and Latvia.
They are coming off a 5-2 loss to Finland on Sunday that saw former Oilers prospect Jesse Puljujarvi record a goal and an assist.
The Austrians have been led by forward Peter Schneider and defenceman Nickl Thimo, who are tied for the team lead in scoring with two goals and six points each.
Supporting them is Montreal Canadiens prospect Vinzenz Rohrer, who has three goals and four points in the tournament. Rohrer was drafted 75th overall by the Canadiens in 2022 and appeared in one game with the AHL’s Laval Rocket this season, recording a goal and an assist.
The quarter-finals are set to begin on May 28 and every game at the men’s World Hockey Championship can be seen LIVE on TSN.
