Latvia Upset USA 4-2 Behind 45-Save Gudlevskis Wall

Latvia produced one of the upsets of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with a 4-2 win over the defending champion United States at Swiss Life Arena on Saturday afternoon. Kristers Gudlevskis was the difference, stopping 45 of 47 shots as Latvia were outshot 47-22 and still walked off with two points.

How it unfolded

Latvia drew first blood at 8:47 of the opening period. Martins Dzierkals worked the puck out from behind the net and slid a centring pass to Haralds Egle, who roofed it past Devin Cooley to put Latvia 1-0 up.

The United States poured 18 first-period shots at Gudlevskis but could not break through, the Latvian netminder turning back Paul Cotter in alone before the buzzer. A scrum behind the Latvian net midway through the second drew a double-minor on Mathieu Olivier and gave Latvia a long power play, but they could not convert. Ryan Ufko then made a goal-line save to keep the Smirnovs shot out.

Matthew Tkachuk finally beat Gudlevskis at 14:48 of the second on the power play, tipping Oliver Moore's point shot to tie the game 1-1 going into the second intermission.

Latvia regained the lead at 6:06 of the third. Cooley stopped Rudolfs Balcers off the rush, but the rebound found Sandis Vilmanis, who slid the puck to Deniss Smirnovs for the go-ahead goal.

The closing minutes turned dramatic. Vilmanis poked an empty-net goal in at 18:58 to make it 3-1. Tkachuk set up Olivier for a power-play strike with 50 seconds left to give the Americans hope at 3-2, but Vilmanis sealed it with his second empty-netter in the dying seconds.

Goaltenders and shots

Gudlevskis was the game's best player with 45 saves on 47 shots for the win. Cooley took the loss for the United States with 18 saves on 22 shots. Latvia's defensive structure and shot-blocking kept the lop-sided shot count from translating into goals.

Coming up

Latvia move to 6 points and into a quarterfinal position with two games left, facing Great Britain and Hungary. The United States drop to 5 points with games left against Hungary and Austria. Don Granato's side controls its destiny but cannot afford another slip.