Matty Beniers says the low point of Team USA’s run at the 2025 IIHF World Championships came in a way that was equal parts awkward and unforgettable.
The Kraken center described the experience as “One of the most demoralizing moments of all time,” and it came after a 3-0 loss to Switzerland during the round-robin stage. Beniers was there with Seattle teammate Joey Daccord, and despite that one ugly result, the Americans still put together a run for the ages. They won nine of 10 games and captured the USA’s first stand-alone World Championship since 1933.
On the Spittin’ Chicklets podcast, Beniers walked through the scene in Herning, Denmark, where Team USA was trying to shake off the loss.
“During the round-robin,” Beniers recalled on the Spittin’ Chicklets podcast, “we were playing pretty well. We got shelled by Switzerland (3-0) on a back-to-back.
You would have thought these guys were Wayne Gretzky out there. We were all like, ‘What is going on?’
“We were in Herning, Denmark, in the middle of nowhere. There was like one bar.”
After the game, with no next-day obligations, the group headed into the center of town to grab food and a few beers. That’s when the night turned into something Beniers clearly hasn’t forgotten.
“We finished the game. We didn’t have anything the next day, so we went to the center of town to eat some food, have a couple of beers.
We get there, and every single Switzerland fan who was in Denmark is on this street. We walked through the middle of them.
They all started doing this chant. It was so embarrassing.”
Team USA’s response came in the medal round. The Americans beat Finland 5-2 in the quarterfinals, with former Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen on the other side, then rolled past Sweden 6-2 in the semifinals. That group included Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson, along with ex-Kraken Alex Wennberg and Marcus Johansson.
The final brought Switzerland back into the picture, and the rematch stayed scoreless through regulation. But Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson ended it two minutes into overtime, lifting Team USA to a 1-0 win and the gold medal.
“That was sweet. We got a little payback there,” Beniers said.
“It was a great time. I would definitely go back.”
Of course, the setup for the World Championship means a lot of NHL players are available because their teams missed the playoffs, so Beniers probably wouldn’t mind being busy with something else next time around.
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