<p>Two wins from two to begin the tournament was ideal preparation for a Finland side looking to banish memories of their elimination in last year's Quarter-finals at the hands of the reigning champions United States, who bounced back from an opening defeat to Switzerland with victory against Great Britain.</p><p>And it looked to be Finland's good form that would continue just over six minutes in when they took the lead, as <strong>Leni Hameenaho stole the puck from Ryan Leonard at centre ice, attacked by himself down the left and finished off a great individual effort</strong> with a clean strike.</p><p>However, the lead lasted less than 90 seconds - Oliver Moore carried the puck from behind his own net, jinking past the defence down the right side when close to the glass, before <strong>laying it off for Matt Coronato to blast home first time.</strong></p><p>But the frantic period of play continued and Leijonat were ahead again a minute later, when Hameenaho turned provider, <strong>squaring the puck along the blue line for the arriving Patrik Puistola, and the Frolunda man got his head up and fired the puck in off the pipes.</strong></p><p>A slashing call against Henri Jokiharju looked to have given the USA a good chance to equalise, but the powerplay was cancelled out around 30 seconds in when Leonard was guilty of tripping.</p><p>That created a 4-on-4 situation, and it was the Finns who made better use of the space, as <strong>Aatu Raty received Mikko Lehtonen's forward pass in the centre, before</strong> <strong>travelling into the American zone unchallenged and shooting low</strong> between the pads of Joseph Woll.</p><p>A worsening opening period for Leonard got worse in the final minute when he was again guilty of tripping, ensuring Finland would begin period two with a man advantage, and they made that advantage count.</p><p>Time was running down on the powerplay, but with around 10 seconds left, Finland moved the puck around the attacking zone with ease before<strong> Lehtonen found Hameenaho on the left, and the New Jersey Devils forward rifled in his second of the game.</strong></p><p>Getting back to full strength did nothing to help Team USA, who conceded again 30 seconds later when <strong>Olli Maatta passed the puck in front from the left wing, and a faint touch from Saku Maenalanen diverted it past Woll</strong>, who was then replaced by Devin Cooley.</p><p>The US showed more resilience for the rest of the period, holding firm in defence after Sam Lafferty and Ryan Lindgren both spent two minutes in the penalty box, but a lack of finesse in front of goal meant they failed to cut Finland's four-goal lead.</p><p>Despite the healthy advantage, Antti Pennanen's side began to lose their cool early in the third period - as Eemil Erholtz was called for fighting and, almost immediately following the face-off, Maatta was hit with a delay of game penalty.</p><p>And it took all of six seconds for the USA to profit from the 5-on-3 situation, as the next face-off was worked back to Justin Faulk at the corner, and he slid the puck across for Ryan Ufko to hit. His effort was saved by Justus Annunen, <strong>but Leonard was on hand to score the rebound.</strong></p><p>But anything the US could do with two extra players, the Finns could do with one - Paul Cotter was sent to the box for roughing in the seventh minute, and with a play that was almost the mirror image of the US' goal, <strong>Anton Lundell forced home the rebound, albeit from his own initial effort.</strong></p><p>That goal knocked the wind out of the USA sails - they forced 18 shots on goal in the final 20 minutes, but the majority of them came before the Lundell strike, and <strong>Finland cruised to a 6-2 win</strong> to go top of Group A, while the States drop to fifth. <strong>Hameenaho led the way with three points in the contest.</strong></p><p>Finland are back in action again on Thursday 21st, when Latvia will be the side attempting to end their perfect record. The United States will be on the ice a day earlier, when they meet Germany.</p><p><strong>Follow the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship on Flashscore.</strong></p>