"It's the position we find ourselves in, and we knew we needed to take care of business today. Good on the group to get it done. Now we can move on and focus on tomorrow," Team USA captain Justin Falk said.
Faulk, Matthew Tkachuk, and Ryan Leonard scored twice each, and Tommy Novak collected five assists for the US, one shy of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship record for most assists in a game.
"[Novak is] a good playmaker. Obviously, it showed tonight. He's pretty composed and poised with that puck. He's always looking to make a play and he's been doing it for a while. I've played against him now quite a bit, and it's fun to have him on my team," Faulk said.
Csanad Erdely scored twice for Hungary, and Adam Vay made 41 saves.
The United States vs. Hungary game hasn’t been a regular mainstay on the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship schedule, even though their first clash dates back to 1939—a 3–0 US win. In the last ten years, the teams had played twice, and the US won both times.
The 2026 tournament has been a difficult one for both teams, even though Hungary could breathe a sigh of relief after securing its spot in the top division for 2027. As for the US, it was still waiting for a star to emerge—after five games, there were no US players in the tournament’s top 30 in scoring.
Enter Matthew Tkachuk.
"He's great. We all know what type of player he is. He gets it done. He's as good as they come when there's something big on the line. He's a big-game player and he was that for us tonight," Faulk said.
Team USA was just as dominant as expected. The Americans outshot Hungary 21–4 in the period and created several high-quality chances, but Adam Vay was solid in Hungary’s net.
Halfway through the first period, the US scored the important first goal when Justin Faulk’s point shot somehow found its way to the back of the net through heavy traffic at 9:43. Tommy Novak picked up an assist on the goal.
With 1:38 remaining in the period, Tkachuk scored his second goal of the tournament on the power play. Again, Novak set it up with a clever pass to Tkachuk by the side of the net, and he stepped to the front of the net and slammed it through Vay’s five-hole to double the Americans’ lead.
The Americans kept marching on early in the second period.
Just two minutes into the period, Novak won an offensive-zone faceoff. Ryan Leonard took a step in and fired a wrist shot that Vay couldn’t stop to make it 3–0.
Team USA captain Faulk scored his second of the game on the power play at 7:52 with another quick wrister top shelf. Tkachuk and Novak picked up assists. It was Novak’s fourth point of the game.
Hungary clawed its way back into the game and put a stop to Joseph Woll’s shutout attempt at 10:19 off a well-executed 3-on-2. Istvan Terbocs sent a long cross-ice pass, Balazs Sebok tied up the American defender’s stick in the middle, and Csanad Erdely one-timed it in to make it 4–1.
The US power play was firing on all cylinders today, and the Americans scored their third power-play goal with 1:47 remaining, on their fourth opportunity. Tkachuk sent a saucer pass from behind the net to Faulk at the point, and he passed it to Leonard on his left, who one-timed it in for 5–1. It was Leonard’s second goal of the game.
Hungary didn’t give up. They scored twice in the third period.
Hungary made it 5–2 at 7:15 of the third period. Team captain Milan Horvath fired a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle, and Erdely tipped it in from the doorstep for his second goal of the game.
The 5–3 goal came with 5:51 remaining when Gabor Tornyai fired a shot from the slot that found its way to the back of the net under Joseph Woll’s arm.
Tkachuk scored his second goal of the night into an empty Hungarian net with 3:15 remaining.
"We are kind of having a problem handling the momentum of the game. Like, we have the momentum, and then we get scored on. Or now they have the momentum and we score against them! It was an emotional game. That gave us some motivation and extra power to go. We came back, but it wasn't enough," said Hungary's Bence Horvath.
With 27 seconds remaining, Max Plante made it 7–3. Novak was credited with his fifth assist.
Jiri Holik still holds the record for most assists in a game, with six. He accomplished the feat in Czechoslovakia's game against Poland in 1973.
