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Team USA is off to a hot start in men’s ice hockey at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, defeating Latvia, 5-1, to open their play Thursday night.
While the team is loaded with young talent, it was the oldest player on the team, 34-year-old Brock Nelson of the Colorado Avalanche, who scored twice for the USA in the second period to lead the team in scoring.
Nelson was patient with his first goal, which broke a 1-1 tie in the second period when New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes found him in front of the net and Nelson dangled around Latvia’s Elvis Merzlikins in net for a 2-1 lead.
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Brock Nelson of the United States celebrates his goal with teammates during the men’s preliminary Group A match between Latvia and the United States on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 12, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (RvS.Media/Robert Hradil)
Then, with less than a minute to play in the second, the U.S. found itself in prime position to open the door when Hughes got the puck back from Matthew Tkachuk.
With Hughes probing the ice, Nelson wasted no time with the one-time shot off a smart pass that found the back of the net for his second goal of the period.
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Earlier in the game, Nelson scored on a beautiful tip-in on a shot at the blue line by Team USA. But Latvia won its second challenge in the first period on goal when the referees ruled that goalkeeper interference affected the result.
Before Nelson’s disallowed goal, Quinn Hughes was also denied a goal after the Latvian bench challenged offsides before the game. They were right, and thus the score remained 1-1.
Brady Tkachuk of the United States celebrates his goal on day six of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 12, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Andrea Branca/Eurasia Sport Images)
However, Brady Tkachuk, brother of Matthew, got things going earlier in the game when he put a slick wrister over the glove of Merzlikin 5:29 into the game.
Things got interesting, though, when Renars Krastenbergs won the battle for the puck in front of Team USA’s net just over a minute after the Quinn Hughes goal was called back and backhanded it past Connor Hellebuyck for the score.
That was the only offense Latvia would muster, though, with Hellebuyck facing just 18 shots to Team USA’s 38.
Tage Thompson and Auston Matthews were both power play scorers for Team USA, with the former coming in the second period to make it a 3-1 game, while the latter made a point-blank shot on his in the third to seal the victory.
Brock Nelson celebrates the goal with Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Hughes by his side in the 5-1 win over Latvia on February 12, 2026 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. (RvS.Media/Robert Hradil)
Team USA did what it had to do against Latvia, and they should be heavily favored against host Italy on Saturday.
