Defending champ Finland beats US 2-1 in world championship

“This was a great test for us, to see where we match up against the reigning world champs,” Petersen said. “I think it was great for us to start off against one of the best, see where we match up, see the things we need to do better, and then continue to carry positive momentum forward.”

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In Group A, Nicklas Jensen had a hat trick and Denmark beat Sweden for the first time in the event, winning 4-3.

Timo Meier and Gregory Hofmann each scored twice to help Switzerland beat the Czech Republic 5-2, Anton Burdasov scored twice in Russia’s 7-1 victory over Britain, and Roman Starchenko had the shootout winner in Kazakhstan’s 3-2 victory over Latvia.