It was another good day for Team USA at the 2026 IIHF World Championships on Tuesday. Team USA needed a regulation win to advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday and got the job done with a 4-1 win over Austria. Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] defenseman Connor Clifton opened the scoring in the first period with a shot from the point. He pump-faked at first before rifling the puck home. It's his first point of the tournament. He was also named the Player of the Game [https://x.com/usahockey/status/2059314167144743418?s=20] for Team USA. Tommy Novak got an assist on Ryan Ufko's goal that made it a 2-0 game in the first period. Novak has six points (all assists) in his last two games. Paul Cotter and Matthew Tkachuk made it 4-0 in the second period before Austria got one back late in the middle frame. Neither team scored in the third period. Team USA will face Canada in the quarterfinals on Thursday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwquDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more! Â
