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World Championships Recap Day 9: Devin Cooley allows two goals in Team USA’s 4-2 loss to Team Latvia
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
May 24, 2026, 11:00 EDTUpdated: May 24, 2026, 11:10 EDT
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All but two Calgary Flames players at the 2026 IIHF World Championship currently see their team occupying a playoff spot.
There were six games on Saturday, but only two of the featured Flames players. In the early hours, Team USA fell 4-2 to Team Latvia, while Team Slovakia fell 3-2 to Team Czechia.
Let’s see what happened in those games, check in on the scores of the other four games, look at the standings, and see what’s on tap for Sunday.

Team USA vs Team Latvia

Team USA’s tough tournament continued with a 4-2 loss to Team Latvia. The lone scoring of the first period came courtesy of the Latvians, but former Flame Matthew Tkachuk tied it late in the second period.
Unfortunately for the Americans, the Latvians scored the first two goals of the third period, the second being with just 62 left in the game thanks to an empty netter. Mathieu Olivier got that goal back just 11 seconds later, but Latvia once again scored on the empty netter for the 4-2 victory.
Two Flames participated in this game. Devin Cooley got the nod between the pipes, stopping 18 of 20 shots for a .900 save percentage. Cooley now has a .922 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average over his four games.
It wasn’t Matt Coronato’s best game of the tournament, finishing as a minus-2 in his 19 minutes on the ice. Coronato fired five shots on goal (Tkachuk finished with 12), while Coronato also won 19 of the 29 faceoffs he took, good for a 65.52 faceoff percentage. Coronato has just one goal in five games, and is a minus-4.

Team Slovakia vs Team Czechia

The other Flame in action on Saturday was Martin Pospíšil, as Team Slovakia fell 3-2 to Team Czechia. Midway through the first, Daniel Voženílek opened the scoring for the Czechs. The score stood that way after 20 minutes, but the Slovaks tied it thanks to Marek Hrivík’s goal midway through the second.
That tie game lasted less than three minutes, as Martin Kaut restored Team Czechia’s lead. But again, the Slovaks had an answer,  as Martin Chromiak scored with just 2:10 remaining in the second period, knotting the game up at two after 40.
With just under eight to play, former Flame and Czech captain Roman Červenka scored his second of the tournament, and his 149th goal representing the country.
As for the current Flame in this game, Pospíšil, the forward played a little under 15 minutes, finishing with a shot, but also as a -1. He took 24 faceoffs, winning half of them. This tournament, the forward has a goal and four points in five games.

Other notes…

Starting with the standings, three of the five Flames at the tournament currently occupy a playoff spot. Team Canada sits first in Group B with two games left. It’s possible, albeit highly unlikely, that they fall out of one of the top four spots. 
One of their two games is against Team Slovakia, who currently sit third in Group B with 11 points. They also have two games remaining, including one against Team Sweden. If they lose that and the game against the Canadians in regulation, they’ll miss the playoff rounds.
Over in Group A, Team Finland remains perfect, winning all five games they’ve played in regulation. They’ve already punched their ticket to the playoff round, but they’re three points behind Team Switzerland for the Group A lead. The Swiss, the hosts, have played one extra game.
If the preliminary mound were to end today, the reigning gold medallists, Team USA, wouldn’t make the playoff rounds. Right now, they sit sixth in Group A with five points in five games. Team Germany occupies the fourth spot with seven points in six games, so making the playoff round is still feasible for the Americans, especially considering they play Team Austria and Team Hungary in their final two games.
As for the other games played on Saturday: Team Denmark defeated Team Slovenia 4-0, Team Switzerland beat Team Hungary 9-0, Team Germany defeated Team Austria 6-2, and Team Norway had a 3-2 upset victory over Team Sweden.
There’ll be three Flames in action on Sunday. Olli Määttä’s Team Finland takes on Team Austria with a start time of 12:20 p.m. MT. At the same time, Zach Whitecloud and Team Canada take on Martin Pospíšil and Team Slovakia in Group B action.
As for the other two games, Team Great Britain and Team Latvia play in Group A action, while Team Italy takes on Team Denmark in Group B action. Both games have an 8:20 a.m. MT start time. Team USA is back in action on Monday at 8:20 a.m. MT, taking on Team Hungary.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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