TAMPERE, Finland – The U.S. Men’s National Team will play in the bronze medal game here on Sunday against Latvia in its final contest at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship. The game can be seen live on NHL Network in the U.S. and opening faceoff is set for 8:20 a.m. ET

While Team USA will have to dust off the sting from its 4-3 overtime semifinal loss to Germany, it’s been a historic tournament for the United States, which won all seven games of the preliminary round for the first time in the country’s history and won its first eight games in the worlds all total.

Team USA is seeking its 14th medal overall in the world championship and third in the last five tournaments.

The U.S. is making its third straight appearance in the bronze-medal game, with an 8-4 loss to Czechia last year in a contest that included a U.S. team decimated by injury on the blueline, and a 6-1 victory over Germany in 2021.

Latvia advanced to the semifinals of the world championship for the first time ever this year where it dropped a hard-fought 4-2 loss to Canada before a raucous pro-Latvian crowd at Nokia Arena.

The U.S. and Latvia have met 15 times previously in the men’s worlds and the U.S. has won 11 of those meetings, including a 4-1 victory in last year’s tournament in the preliminary round.

Captain Nick Bonino, who has been part of two previous bronze medal teams at the men’s world championship (2018, 2015), is seeking his third medal in the tournament which would tie the U.S. record for most medals in the men’s worlds held by Allen Van (silver-1939, 1950; bronze-1949).

Team USA Stats Through Eight Games