Canada falls to undefeated Switzerland at men's hockey worlds

Andres Ambuhl scored the game-winning goal as Switzerland defeated Canada 3-2 on Saturday to stay perfect at the men's world hockey championship.

Nico Hischier and Dario Simion also scored for Switzerland, which has five regulation wins in as many games and leads Group B.

Captain Tyler Toffoli and Michael Carcone scored the goals for Canada in the loss.

"I think our nerves got to us a little bit and we were not as aggressive as we would have liked," said Canada head coach Andre Tourigny. "We need to make sure we keep a focus on our defensive play because that will be a big difference the rest of the tournament.

"We have to give credit to the Swiss, they worked extremely hard, and it was a hard-fought game."

WATCH l Switzerland beats Canada at men's hockey worlds:

Canada drops 1st game at worlds with loss to Switzerland

2 years ago

Duration 1:15

After trailing in the second, Switzerland stormed back to remain undefeated.

Leonardo Genoni made 27 saves in the Swiss net, while Samuel Montembeault turned away 23 of 26 shots for the Canadians.

Toffoli opened the scoring on the power play with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 9:58 of the second period. It was Toffoli's first goal of the tournament.

"I feel like I have had a million chances in this tournament ... It feels good to get my first one, and I will try to use this as a stepping stone," Toffoli said after the game. "Hopefully I can continue to create opportunities for myself and give myself good looks at the net, and I hope the puck keeps going in for me."

The power play came after Swiss captain Nino Niederreiter took a roughing penalty for jostling with Joe Veleno in front of Canada's net.

Moments earlier, Veleno appeared to use his skate to stomp on Niederreiter's leg while battling for the puck along the boards. Veleno was not penalized for his actions.

WATCH l Canada's Veleno brings skate down on Niederreiter's lower leg:

Joe Veleno stomps Nino Niederreiter with skate in Canada's loss to Swiss

2 years ago

Duration 1:47

Veleno brought his skate down on Niederreiter's lower leg during a scrum on the boards. While there was no penalty, a suspension may be coming for the questionable play.

Switzerland responded with goals from Hischier and Simion to take the lead before the end of the second frame.

Ambuhl increased the Swiss lead 12:08 into the third period by burying a pass from Niederreiter at the side of Canada's net.

Carcone scored for Canada four minutes later, deflecting a point shot from Brad Hunt to make it a one-goal game, but the Canadians weren't able to find the equalizer.

"We wanted to slow [the Swiss] down and get pucks behind them, but they did a good job of playing their game today," said Carcone. "This loss hurts, but we will regroup and come back stronger next game."

"I think a game like this will help in the long run."

The Canadians wrap up group play with games Monday against Norway and Tuesday against Czechia before the knockout stage begins Thursday.

Switzerland plays Sunday against Czechia and Tuesday versus Latvia.

U.S. blank Denmark, advance to quarters

The United States shut out Denmark 3-0 on Saturday to stay perfect at the men's ice hockey world championship.

Alex Tuch scored one goal and added two assists for the United States to earn its fifth victory from five games.

Cutter Gauthier broke the deadlock midway through the final period on a power play before Tuch doubled the advantage and Rocco Grimaldi finished it off with an empty net goal.

Goaltender Casey DeSmith stopped 22 shots for the shutout.

The Americans lead Group A with 15 points and have secured a spot in the quarterfinals. The top four teams from the two eight-team groups advance to the knockout stage.

Switzerland leads Group B with five wins from five.

The Czech Republic was second after beating Norway 2-0 and joining Switzerland in the last eight.

In Tampere, defending champion Finland defeated Austria 3-1 for the third straight victory and Sweden scored all of its goals in the opening period in shutting out France 4-0.

Sweden is second in Group A, a point behind the U.S., and Finland is another point back. They have qualified for the next stage.

In Riga, co-host Latvia demolished Kazakhstan 7-0 in Group B to stay in contention for a quarterfinal spot.

WATCH | Crouse keys Canada win over Kazakhstan:

Pair of 1st period goals by Lawson Crouse keeps Canada perfect at the world championships

2 years ago

Duration 1:35

Lawson Crouse scored twice in the opening period as Canada defeated Kazakhstan 5-1 moving to a record of 4-0 at the world hockey championships in Riga, Latvia.