{"id":1048,"date":"2026-05-23T22:03:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T22:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1048"},"modified":"2026-05-23T22:03:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T22:03:20","slug":"latvia-stuns-the-united-states-at-ice-hockey-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1048","title":{"rendered":"Latvia stuns the United States at ice hockey worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sandis Vilmanis scored two empty-net goals and Latvia upset the United States, 4-2, to hand the defending champion its third defeat at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday in Zurich.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Deniss Smirnovs\u2019d goal early in the third period gave Latvia a 2-1 lead and set up a wild ending.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Americans pulled goaltender Devin Cooley for an extra attacker, but Vilmanis scored with 1:02 left to make it 3-1.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Americans struck back \u2014 again with six skaters \u2014 when Matthew Tkachuk set up Mathieu Olivier to cut the deficit to one from the slot with 51 seconds remaining.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vilmanis sealed the victory, though, when he netted his second with 42 seconds to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

Latvia opened the scoring in the first period when Haralds Egle connected at 8:47 with his team\u2019s second shot on goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tkachuk\u2019s power-play goal \u2014 his first at the worlds \u2014 tied it at 1-1 with 5:12 remaining in the middle period. The two-time Stanley Cup winner and Olympic champion played only his second career game at the worlds after joining teammates on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

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