USA Dominates Germany in Men’s Ice Hockey at Milan-Cortina Games

On Sunday, the U.S. men’s ice hockey team continued their strong performance in the group stage of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, defeating Germany with a score of 5-1. This victory keeps them undefeated in the qualifying round.

Auston Matthews led the charge, scoring two goals, while Tage Thompson, Zach Werenski, and Brock Faber each contributed to the scoreboard. This marked Team USA’s third win in Milan.

Having already bested Latvia 5-1 and Denmark 6-3 in previous matches, Team USA is set to advance to the quarterfinals, starting Wednesday, where they’ll enjoy a bye.

Meanwhile, Canada and Slovakia also secured byes with their respective wins in Groups A and B.

Though Team USA was favored to win against the weaker players in their group, the game against Germany was anything but easy. The competition was physical, putting pressure on American goalie Connor Hellebuyck from the outset.

Werenski opened the scoring just nine seconds before the first intermission, taking advantage of a pass from Matthews to slide the puck past German goalie Maximilian Franzlev. While the first periods so far hadn’t been the smoothest for Team USA, they managed to excel in the second and third periods across all their games.

Matthews, finding a groove, took advantage of a power play opportunity to score his second goal of the match. Later in the game, Faber scored his first goal while Tkachuk assisted and then Brady Tkachuk found the net as well.

Entering the final period with a 3-0 lead, Thompson capitalized on an early chance and Matthews soon added another goal, sealing the 5-0 advantage for Team USA. Germany got on the board with Tim Stützle’s late goal, but it was too late to alter the outcome.

Now, Team USA awaits to discover their opponent for the quarterfinals. The upcoming tournament stage will be single-elimination, meaning they need three more wins to reach the gold medal match scheduled for February 22.