Penguins at the World Championship: Preliminary Round Wrapup

A trio of Penguins have played a part in Team USA making history at the 2023 IIHF World Championship in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia.

Goaltender Casey DeSmith and forwards Nick Bonino and Drew O'Connor helped the Americans finish undefeated in the preliminary round for the first time ever, earning a perfect 7-0 record after a 4-3 overtime victory over Sweden on Tuesday.

DeSmith was between the pipes in four of those games, giving up just six goals on 104 shots to earn a 1.49 goals-against average and .942 save percentage.

He is representing his country on an international level for the first time, and so is O'Connor, who's been shining on the big stage over in Latvia and Finland. The 24-year-old has recorded three goals and five points in seven games, while their veteran teammate Bonino - who's serving as team captain - has picked up three goals and four points in six games.

The U.S., who is looking for their first gold medal since 1933, will face Czechia in the quarterfinals at 9:20 AM ET on Thursday. They finished first in Group A ahead of Sweden, whose only loss came to the Americans. Penguins forward Alex Nylander appeared in all seven of his team's games, getting two assists. They'll play Latvia in the quarterfinals at 1:20 PM ET on Thursday.

Over in Group B, P.O Joseph scored one goal to go along with a +4 rating in six games for Canada. They'll take on Finland in the quarterfinals, also at 9:20 AM ET on Thursday.

For more, visit our Penguins at the World Championship landing page.