Kristers Gudlevskis Leads Latvia Usa Hockey Past U.S. 3-2
latvia usa hockey turned on a goaltending edge Saturday, and Kristers Gudlevskis supplied it with 45 saves in a 3-2 Latvia win over the United States at the 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship. The loss dropped the U.S. to 2-3 in the tournament after a game in which it carried the shot volume but could not finish enough chances.
Gudlevskis Stops 45
Gudlevskis faced 47 shots and stopped 45 of them. That number drove the result. Latvia needed only a handful of clean looks to stay in front while the U.S. kept pressing, and the goaltender erased the pressure at both ends of the game.
Devin Cooley was busy at the other end, making 18 saves in 58:39 of work and posting a.900 save percentage. The U.S. still generated more chances than Latvia, but the game tilted on the one area where Latvia held the clear edge: the last line of defense.
Egle, Tkachuk, Smirnovs
Haralds Egle opened the scoring at 8:47 of the first period. Matthew Tkachuk answered with a power-play goal in the second period to bring the U.S. level, and the game stayed tight until the third.
Deniss Smirnovs restored Latvia’s lead at 6:06 of the third period. The U.S. kept pushing, and Mathieu Olivier cut the margin to one at 19:09, but Sandis Vilmanis had already made the decisive move by scoring an empty-net goal at 18:58.
Vilmanis Finishes It
Vilmanis added another empty-net goal to seal the win for Latvia. That finish matched the pattern of the night: the U.S. had the puck and the shot count, but Latvia had the cleaner ending.
Matt Coronato played 19:18 for the U.S. and put five shots on goal. He has one goal at the tournament and 16 shots through five games, while Cooley’s tournament line now sits at a 1.89 GAA and a.922 save percentage through four appearances. The U.S. has two more preliminary-round games left, against Hungary on Saturday and Austria on Monday, with little room left after slipping to 2-3.
