Atte Tolvanen

Goaltender Atte Tolvanen, who starred for NMU from 2015-19, stopped 17 shots as Austria defeated Hungary 4-2.

Kristof Papp, who played for Northern from 2022-24, assisted on Hungary’s final goal scored by Peter Vincze with 6:39 left that pulled his team within 3-2.

Austria improved to 2-0 in Group A, while Hungary fell to 0-2.

Tolvanen was named WCHA Goaltender of the Year after his senior season in 2018-19, setting the program record of 137 game appearances by a goalie.

Kristof Papp

As a sophomore in January and February 2017, he tied the NCAA record with five consecutive shutouts, keeping pucks out of the net for 339 minutes, 5 seconds of ice time.

Also in Group A on Sunday, the defending champion Americans bounced back from a loss to Switzerland with a 5-1 victory over tournament newcomer Great Britain.

Isaac Howard scored twice, Paul Cotter and Mathieu Olivier each had three points and Declan Carlile had a goal and an assist for the Americans. Goaltender Devin Cooley made 18 saves for the U.S.

Howard restored a 2-1 lead for the Americans with an unassisted goal with 2:59 remaining in the period by exploiting a defensive blunder.

Howard is one of two players on the roster, along with Mason Lohrei, who lifted the trophy last year.

The Americans play Finland today. On Tuesday, they will be boosted with the arrival of Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, a member of the U.S. gold-winning team at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Britain, a newcomer to the top division, fell to its second straight defeat.

Sweden takes 1st win

In Group B, Sweden recovered from a 5-3 defeat to Canada in the opening game by routing Denmark 6-2 at Fribourg in a rematch of last year’s bronze medal game that Sweden won by the same score.

The Detroit Red Wings’ Raymond Lucas had a goal and two assists to spark the Swedes.

The 18-year-old forward Viggo Bjorck scored on a power play to become the youngest Swedish player to score at the worlds and added an assist. Another 18-year-old rising star for Sweden, Ivar Stenberg, had two assists. The two are among the top prospects for the 2026 NHL daft.

Also in Fribourg, Slovakia downed another newcomer, Italy, 4-1 for its second victory at the worlds.

Story contents based on an Associated Press report and look at International Ice Hockey Federation information on Reddit.com. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.