Alex Nedeljkovic had a solid performance in net during USA's Sunday matchup against Kazakhstan, stopping 13 of 14 shots.
Solid was all Nedeljkovic needed to be as the American team routed Kazakhstan, 10-1. Brady Tkachuk registered a hat trick while Matt Boldy recorded six points (two goals, four assists) and Johnny Gaudreau recorded five points (one goal, four assists). With his lone goal, Gaudreau moved into first all-time in USA Hockey history with 43 points in IIHF World Championship play:
π¨Johnny Gaudreau breaks the USA points record for #MensWorlds π#USAKAZ@usahockey pic.twitter.com/gWeuZimqVK
β IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 19, 2024
USA dominated play as they outshot Kazakhstan, 58-14. Nedeljkovic had a shutout going through the first two periods, but his bid for one was denied when Alikhan Omirbekov tipped a shot by Artyom Korolyov at 6:57 into the third period:
π¨Alikhan Omirbekov gets Kazakhstan on the board! #USAKAZ#MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/UVefvbYvOS
β IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 19, 2024
Nedeljkovic has logged the most amount of minutes among American goaltenders through six games as USA currently ranks second in Group B with 13 points (four wins, one loss and one overtime loss). To this point, Nedeljkovic has a 2.02 goals-against average and has stopped 35 of 40 shots against for an .875 save percentage.
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β’ Michael Bunting was held off the scoresheet in Canada's 3-2 win over Switzerland. He registered one shot on goal in 10:53 of ice time. In six games, Bunting has four points (one goal, three assists) and a +6 rating
β’ Thimo Nickl played on Austria's top defensive pairing in a 4-1 win over Norway. Nickl logged 16:47 of ice time, registering two shots on goal with a -1 rating.
β’ Raivis Ansons was a healthy scratch on Sunday as Latvia defeated Slovakia in a shootout, 3-2. Ansons was benched after being -3 on four shifts last time he was on the ice.
