The United States men’s national ice hockey team had to sweat it out a little bit before pulling away from Denmark with a 6-3 win at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Saturday.
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Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan made the decision to start goalie Jeremy Swayman. Connor Hellebuyck, who started for Team USA in a 5-1 win over Latvia on Thursday, was named as Swayman’s backup. Jake Oettinger was the third goalie.
Denmark had its way with Swayman early, taking a 2-1 lead into the second period after goals by Nicholas B. Jensen and Nick Olesen in the preliminary round for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
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Team USA would go on a run in the second period, with Brady Tkachuk, Jack Eichel and Nolan Hanifin scoring goals to go up 4-2 on Denmark. Phillip Bruggisser would put one more past Swayman before the end of the second period, the final goal for Denmark.
Team USA’s Jake Guentzel and Jack Hughes scored the only goals of the third period, giving Swayman a comfortable lead in the final stretch.
Following the game, Swayman told reporters that he was proud of the way his team played against Denmark after suffering early adversity in the first period.
“I mean, it’s just battle and adversity and do whatever you have to do to stop the puck, and I’m really proud of this group for staying even keeled,” Swayman said, via USA Today. “The confidence never left the group and that’s a serious trait at this stage in the tournament. And the guys rallied and we got it done.”
Team USA is considered a favorite to win the tournament. Saturday’s win should give the team confidence that they have the offense needed to overcome a sluggish start.
Team USA has more work to do on Sunday. Team USA is set to play Germany on Sunday at 3:10 PM ET.
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