Ice hockey-US through to World Championship semis after 5-2 win over Finland
Ice Hockey - IIHF World Championships - Quarter Finals - United States v Finland - Avicii Arena, Stockholm, Sweden - May 22, 2025 Jeremy Swayman of the U.S. reacts after Finland's second goal. Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via REUTERS
Ice Hockey - IIHF World Championships - Quarter Finals - United States v Finland - Avicii Arena, Stockholm, Sweden - May 22, 2025 Zeev Buium of the U.S. celebrates scoring with teammates Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via REUTERS
STOCKHOLM - Winger Conor Garland scored twice as Team USA came from a goal down to ease past Finland 5-2 on Thursday, booking their spot in Saturday's semi-finals of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship.
After withstanding early Finnish pressure, the Americans took the lead at the 4:50 mark as Logan Cooley slipped a beautiful pass across the ice for Garland to rattle home but, with Cooley later sin-binned for delaying the game, the Finns struck back through Eeli Tolvanen.
The Finns took a 2-1 lead thanks to a Patrick Puistola goal that capped another well-executed power play but the U.S. levelled when Zeev Buium swept home the rebound from a Mattie Beniers shot and they went ahead when Garland's fortuitous effort deflected off the stick of Mikael Seppala and into the net.
Shane Pinto gave the Finns a mountain to climb when he scored six minutes into the second period to make it 4-2 and Clayton Keller fired into an empty net with just under three minutes left to condemn 2022 champs Finland to a third straight exit at the quarter-final stage.
In the afternoon's other quarter-final in Herning, Denmark, Switzerland thrashed Austria 6-0. Canada will take on the Danes at the same venue later in the evening, while Sweden host the Czech Republic in Stockholm. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Czech Lehecka opens grass campaign with win in Stuttgart
FILE PHOTO: May 31, 2025; Paris, FR; Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic celebrates winning a game during his match against Jannik Sinner of Italy on day seven at Roland Garros Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images/File Photo REUTERS Czech Lehecka opens grass campaign with win in Stuttgart Rising Czech force Jiri Lehecka began his Wimbledon build-up in impressive fashion with a 6-4 6-4 defeat of Benjamin Bonzi in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open on Monday. The eighth seed, whose last match on grass was in the Wimbledon fourth round in 2023, quickly got up to speed to overpower Bonzi, firing down 13 aces. Lehecka, 23, will face 2023 Stuttgart runner-up Jan-Lennard Struff next after he thumped down 30 aces during a 6-4 6-4 victory over Italy's Matteo Arnaldi, his first win against a top-50 opponent this season. American sixth seed Brandon Nakashima came through a battle against Britain's Jacob Fearnley, winning 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1. Top seed at the ATP 250 event is Alexander Zverev. Action also began at the Libema Open in Den Bosch with two-time runner-up Jordan Thompson beginning another run with a 6-4 6-4 defeat of American Aleksandar Kovacevic. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
South Africa strike confident note ahead of WTC final
LONDON - South Africa are quietly confident of an upset victory in the World Test Championship final with coach Shukri Conrad warning defending champions Australia not to underestimate his inexperienced batting line-up. South Africa go into the five-day clash at Lord's, which starts on Wednesday, as underdogs but Conrad struck an optimistic tone at a press conference on Monday. "The inexperience is very apparent in terms of the number of tests played and their place in the ICC rankings. So, I think it's pretty normal that the chat is all about the bowlers when you've got guys like Kagiso Rabada, ranked two in the world, and Marco (Jansen) and (spinner) Keshav (Maharaj)," he said. "But I think there's a quiet confidence among the batting group. They got a lot of confidence, with hundreds for different players at different stages. So yeah, while there might not be superstar names among them, I think as a collective we're pretty confident." South Africa's path to the WTC final has been questioned, given they played only 12 tests over the two-year 2023-25 cycle while Australia played seven more. South Africa also did not meet Australia or England and booked their place with series wins over Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies. "Enough has been spoken about that to be honest," Conrad said. "We are here and that's all that matters and now we get a chance to walk away as the world test champions, playing Australia. It doesn't get any bigger than that." "We are quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We're a confident bunch, we play well as a unit, and if there are any vulnerabilities among them (Australia), I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that," Conrad added. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Kvitova loses on day one of new Queen's Club WTA event
Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 9, 2025 Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova serves during her round of 32 match against Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge REUTERS Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 9, 2025 Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia reacts during her round of 32 match against Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge REUTERS Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 9, 2025 Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova in action during her round of 32 match against Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge REUTERS Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 9, 2025 Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in action during her round of 32 match against Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge REUTERS Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 9, 2025 Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova serves during her round of 32 match against Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge REUTERS Kvitova loses on day one of new Queen's Club WTA event LONDON - Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia came from a set down to beat former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and reach the second round of the new WTA 500 event at Queen's Club on Monday. After a 52-year gap since the last top-tier women's event was held at the London grasscourt club, it was fitting that twice Wimbledon winner Kvitova opened proceedings on a court named after former British Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. After an impressive start on the pristine centre court lawn in front of a sizeable crowd, however, the Czech was unable to hold off her younger opponent who prevailed 2-6 6-4 6-4. Kvitova, who won her titles at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014, made her comeback from a 17-month maternity break in February and gained entry to the tournament via a protected ranking. After holding serve in a marathon fifth game, the 35-year-old surged on to win the opening set and looked on course for only her second victory since returning. The rust was apparent though as world number 23 Haddad Maia worked her way back into the match and claimed the win. After levelling the match she got an early break in the deciding set and that proved decisive as she sealed a clash against American third seed Emma Navarro. "For sure (Petra) is won of the best players on this surface and it's a privilege to be here," Haddad Maia said. German qualifier Tatjana Maria also made it through as she beat former U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez 7-6 6-2. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
