Latvia stuns the US 4-2 at ice hockey world championship

ZURICH (AP) — Sandis Vilmanis scored two empty-net goals and Latvia upset the United States 4-2 to hand the defending champion its third defeat at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday.

Deniss Smirnovs' goal early in the third period gave Latvia a 2-1 lead and set up a wild ending.

The Americans pulled goaltender Devin Cooley for an extra attacker but Vilmanis scored with 1:02 left to make it 3-1.

The U.S. struck back — again with six skaters — when Matthew Tkachuk set up Mathieu Olivier to cut the deficit to one from the slot with 0:51 remaining.

Vilmanis sealed the victory, though, when he netted his second with 42 seconds to go.

Latvia had opened the scoring in the first period when Haralds Egle connected at 8:47 with his team’s second shot on goal.

Tkachuk's power-play goal — his first at the worlds — tied it at 1-1 with 5:12 remaining in the middle period. The two-time Stanley Cup winner and Olympic champion played only his second career game at the worlds after joining teammates on Tuesday.

The loss left the U.S. fifth in Group A, one point behind Latvia. The Americans have two group-stage games left — against Hungary on Monday, and Austria on Tuesday.

In Group B in Fribourg, Denmark blanked Slovenia 4-0 for its first win.

Later Saturday, host Switzerland meets Hungary, and Austria plays Germany in Group A in Zurich. In Fribourg, Czechia plays Slovakia, and Sweden faces Norway.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

From left, USA's Paul Cotter, Latvia's goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis and Latvia's Arturs Andzans challenge for the puck during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match between Latvia and the United States in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)

From left, Latvia's Kristaps Zile, USA's Mathieu Olivier and Latvia's goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis challenge for the puck during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match between Latvia and the United States in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)

USA's Matthew Tkachuk, second right, celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match between Latvia and the United States in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)

USA's goaltender Devin Cooley during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match between Latvia and the United States in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)

Latvia's Deniss Smirnovs, right, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A match between Latvia and the United States in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Andreas Becker/Keystone via AP)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The remains of four Italian divers who died deep inside an underwater cave earlier this month while diving in the Maldives were repatriated early Saturday, a Maldivian government spokesperson said.

The four coffins arrived at Milan’s Malpensa Airport in the middle of the day. The bodies were taken to a morgue and autopsies were due to begin on Monday, according to Italian news agency LaPresse.

Five Italian divers went missing on May 14 while exploring the cave about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll. The body of their Italian diving instructor was recovered outside the cave at the time and has already been returned home.

A high-risk operation to recover the bodies faced hurdles and was initially suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a Maldivian military diver who was part of the recovery team, was killed. Three Finnish expert deep and cave divers joined the mission and located the four bodies last week in the innermost chamber of the cave at a depth of around 60 meters (200 feet). The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98 feet).

Maldives President’s Spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said Saturday two investigations were initiated; one into the death of the five divers and the other probing how Mahudhee died while on duty. Shareef also said Italy agreed to share any findings of autopsies on the repatriated bodies.

The victims have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.

Government spokesperson Ahmed Shaam said earlier the four bodies were found “pretty much together.”

While the divers had a permit, authorities didn’t know from their proposal the exact location of the cave they were exploring, and at least two of the dead were not on the list of researchers that had been submitted, according to Maldivian authorities.

Coffins carrying the bodies of the divers who died in the Maldives are unloaded from a plane at Milan's Malpensa airport, Italy, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Marco Ottico/LaPresse via AP)

Coffins carrying the bodies of the divers who died in the Maldives arrive at Milan's Malpensa airport, Italy, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (Marco Ottico/LaPresse via AP)