TAMPERE, Finland — The United States overcame defending champion Finland 4-1 to open the ice hockey world championship Friday.
Alex Tuch scored two goals and Drew O’Connor had a goal and two assists to lead the U.S. Cutter Gauthier also scored, and goaltender Casey DeSmith stopped 23 shots.
Teemu Hartikainen gave the hosts a 1-0 lead late in the opening period on a power play before Gauthier tied it from the left circle in the second.
O’Connor and Tuch completed the rally midway through the final period. Tuch scored his second into an empty net.
In Riga, Latvia, MacKenzie Weegar scored a goal and added two assists to lead Canada as it routed host Latvia 6-0 in their opener.
The Czech Republic beat Slovakia 3-2, also in Riga, and Oscar Lindberg scored the lone goal on a power play for Sweden to beat Germany 1-0 in Tampere.
Finland and Latvia are staging the tournament after the hosting rights were stripped from Russia because of the war in Ukraine. Tampere was one of the host cities last year, and Riga was a host in 2021.
Russia and its ally Belarus are excluded from the tournament for the second straight year.
