USA Hockey fans were frustrated Monday after Team USA was routed 6-2 by Finland at the men’s hockey world championships. The Americans dropped to 1-2 in the tournament with just three points through three games, while Finland improved to 3-0.
Finland, which is usually known for its defensive style, had little trouble generating offense throughout the game against the Americans. After USA Hockey posted the final score on X, fans quickly criticized both the performance and the roster.
“Man what a horrible roster,” one fan wrote.
Another added:
“Has there ever been a roster this bad sent to worlds?”
One user even joked that the Americans should bring back veteran forward Phil Kessel.
“You need to get Phil Kessel on a plane ASAP … he can save this disaster,” the comment read.
Not everyone was overly bothered by the loss, though,
“Finland played great. Usa does it much better when it matter. Leta go,” one fan wrote.
Another user appeared less concerned about the result altogether.
“We don’t care about worlds anyway. We only get up for the big tournaments like the Spengler Cup !”
Team USA falls below quarterfinal cut line after a loss to Finland
Things got out of hand quickly for USA Hockey against Finland on Monday.
Lenni Hameenaho gave Finland a 1-0 lead after capitalizing on a turnover in front, though Matt Coronato answered shortly after with a one-timer to tie the game. That was about as close as the Americans got the rest of the night.
Finland then scored four straight goals, with Patrik Puistola and Aatu Raty finding the net before the end of the opening period. Hameenaho added another on the power play early in the second, and Saku Maenalanen scored 31 seconds later as Finland took full control of the game.
Team USA pulled Joseph Woll after Finland’s fifth goal and replaced him with Devin Cooley in net. Ryan Leonard scored in the third period for Team USA before Anton Lundell added Finland’s final goal in the 6-2 result.
The United States now has one win through its first three games at the tournament after beating Great Britain and losing to both Switzerland and Finland.
It was a very different start compared to last year, when Team USA beat both Finland and Switzerland on the way to winning its first gold medal since 1933. Only two players from that roster returned for this year’s tournament.
The loss also temporarily dropped the Americans to fifth place, just outside the quarterfinal qualification spots, with four preliminary-round games still left to play.
Team USA will next face Germany on Wednesday, while Matthew Tkachuk is expected to arrive in Switzerland on Tuesday.
Edited by Sonali Verma