On Thursday, the story of Denmark’s 4-1 win over Germany was goaltender Anton Wilde. On Friday, he couldn’t do enough to get his team a win against the USA, but he did everything he possibly could, stopping 52 out of 54 shots in a 2-0 defeat, which evens Denmark’s record to 1-1 at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Men’s World Championship.
“My teammates were helping me a lot – we put in an amazing team effort, so they make it a lot easier for me,” said Wilde, modest as always. “It was fun out there.”
The USA got goals from Mikey Berchild and Dane Beuker, while Luke Carrithers made nine saves for the shutout.
“A win’s a win,” said Berchild. “I mean, their goaltender was unbelievable, so we’ve gotta tip the cap to him but it was a good team effort.”
Following an opening 3-2 overtime loss to Czechia, this was the USA’s first win of the tournament. The Americans now sit second in Group B, one point behind the Czechs and one ahead of Denmark and Sweden.
The shots on goal in the first period were 16-1, but no goals were scored. Jamie Glance had the best chance for the Americans, who took aim at the top corner from the left-wing circle but found only Wilde’s glove.
“I liked a lot of what we did but I didn’t like our first so much,” said US coach Nick Fohr. “We spent too much time on the perimeter so I challenged our guys to get inside a little bit more and I thought we did a lot better job of that in the second and third periods. In the end, I was actually really happy with a lot of the things that we did.”
Early in the second period, there was a wild flurry of action around the Danish net, but Wilde kept the puck out.
The USA finally found the net on the power play in the 27th minute. Wyatt Cullen carried the puck in from the point and perfectly set up a practically unstoppable one-timer from the slot by Berchild, which found space between Wilde’s glove and outstretched pad.
“I found a pocket there and Wyatt made just a great pass, and I put it away,” Berchild described. “It was good to get the guys going.”
Having gone long stretches without any action, USA goalie Carrithers was suddenly called upon two minutes later to preserve his team’s lead about five minutes later when he faced Thoke Heinsen on a clear-cut breakaway. Heinsen tried to score five-hole but Carrithers closed the door.
Already on the power play, Denmark had a 5-on-3 opportunity later in the middle frame. Still one man down, Parker Trottier got a shorthanded breakaway but was pulled down by Heinsen with 3:55 left, resulting in a penalty shot. On Trottier’s attempt, however, Wilde was patient and didn’t bite at the deke attempt.
“I was just trying to keep it calm and do my thing,” Wilde said in his usually calm manner. “I was just trying to stay calm and not think too much.”
The Americans again held a decisive edge in play in the third period, outshooting the Danes 19-1. Wilde made several more great saves, but the 2-0 goal finally came on a lucky bounce. On the power play, Victor Plante’s centring pass went off the skate of Beuker and in with 3:17 to play.
Desperate to keep it a one-goal game, Danish coach Flemming Green challenged that the puck was directed in by the skate. However, the goal stood, sending the USA back to the power play and putting the game away.
“It’ll be a much different game,” said Fohr. “Us and Sweden know each other really well – we’ve played each other a lot over the last year or two. There’s a lot of history there and it should be an exciting game.”
