The second day of the 2026 IIHF World Championship has come to a close and it marked the first of four days throughout the tournament that’ll feature six games in total, three in each group. Canada, Finland, Czechia and Switzerland were all looking to add their second win in as many days after they each picked up a victory on Friday.
In the early games (6:20 am ET/12:20 pm local), Great Britain took on Austria, while Slovakia battled Norway. Hungary faced Finland & Italy met Canada in the second set of games on Day 2 (10:20 am ET/4:20 pm local), while in the final two games (2:20 pm ET/8:20 pm local), the hosts Switzerland faced off against Latvia, with Czechia rounding things out against Slovenia, who staved off relegation on the penultimate day of the preliminary round last year.
Great Britain (2) vs Austria (5) F
Austria and Great Britain faced each other in the early game in Group A on Saturday as both nations looked to get off on the right foot to start the 2026 IIHF World Championship. 30-year-old Matt Robson got the start for Great Britain, with Ben Bowns, who is expected to get the start tomorrow against the United States, served as the backup.
In the first half of the opening period, Austria was in full control, with Benjamin Nissner scoring the game’s first goal less than three minutes in. A little over three minutes later, Austrian captain Peter Schneider extended Austria’s lead to 2-0. Just before the halfway mark, Austria went up 3-0 thanks to Paul Huber.
Great Britain didn’t back down, as defenseman David Clements scored his first career goal for his nation at any level on a great feed from Brett Perlini, cutting Austria’s lead to two. 37 seconds later, Eisbaren Berlin forward & former Arizona Coyotes prospect Liam Kirk fired a shot top corner past David Kickert, making it a one-goal game after 20 minutes.
That’s all the offense the British were able to muster up in this one as Austria scored twice in the second period through Peter Schneider and Leon Wallner to take a 5-2 lead, which they held onto until the final buzzer.
Scoring Summary:
Great Britain
- David Clements (1). Assists: Brett Perlini, Joseph Hazeldine.
- Liam Kirk (1). Assists: Cade Neilson, Nathanael Halbert.
Austria
- Benjamin Nissner (1). Assists: Dominic Zwerger, Bernd Wolf.
- Peter Schneider (1). Assist: Benjamin Nissner.
- Paul Huber (1). Assist: Thimo Nickl.
- Peter Schneider (2). Assists: Dominic Zwerger, Thimo Nickl.
- Leon Wallner (1). Assists: Bernd Wolf, Leon Kolarik.
Slovakia (2) vs Norway (1) F
Slovakia has had a rough go at the IIHF World Championship over the past decade and a half, with their last medal coming in 2012 when they took home silver, meanwhile last May, they missed out on the playoff round for the second time in three years.
While the Slovaks are always capable of an upset, this tournament could be quite tough for them as they have just one full-time NHLer on their roster – Martin Pospisil of the Calgary Flames and they’ve sent a pretty young team to Switzerland too, with just three players over the age of 30. Their first test in the preliminary round was Norway, a nation that has missed the playoff round in 12 consecutive years but are entering a new era with players like Noah Steen and Anaheim Ducks prospect Stian Solberg.
Saturday’s meeting was a low-scoring affair, with Kristian Pospisil opening the scoring 8:15 into the first period, assisted by his brother Martin and HK Vitkovice defenseman Samuel Knazko. Flash forward to late in the second period where Norway got on the board with just 12 seconds remaining thanks to Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Tinus Luc Koblar, who is fresh off his first season in the Swedish Hockey League with Leksands IF.
Just before the halfway point of the final frame, Slovakia took the lead for the second time as captain Marek Hrivik scored his seventh career World Championship goal, securing a big three points for his nation.
Scoring Summary:
Slovakia
- Kristian Pospisil (1). Assists: Martin Pospisil, Samuel Knazko.
- Marek Hrivik (1). Assists: Adam Liska, Mislav Rosandic
Norway
- Tinus Luc Koblar (1). Assist: Eskild Bakke Olsen.
Hungary (1) vs Finland (4) F
The Hungarians made a statement at last year’s IIHF World Championship as they avoided relegation and remained in the top division in back-to-back years for the first time since the late 1930s. Hungary’s first game in this year’s tournament was Finland, who are coming off a 3-1 win over Germany on Friday.
After a scoreless first period, defenseman Ville Heinola, Winnipeg’s first round pick in 2019, got Finland on the board for their first of three goals in the middle frame. Less than three minutes after Heinola’s opening goal, Jesse Puljujarvi scored his second in as many games to extend Finland’s lead to 2-0. Hungary fought back and got their first of the tournament close to four minutes later courtesy of Balazs Sebok. Before the end of the second period, the Finns added another with Janne Kuokkanen, who set a new career-high in points this season with Malmo (SHL), making it 3-1.
Jesse Puljujarvi continued his hot start to the 2026 IIHF World Championship, picking up his second of the game and third of the tournament less than three minutes into the third period. It was a quiet afternoon for Joonas Korpisalo of the Boston Bruins as he stopped nine of the ten shots he faced to pick up the win.
Scoring Summary:
Hungary
- Balazs Sebok (1). Assists: Bence Horvath, Istvan Terbocs.
Finland
- Ville Heinola (1). Assists: Urho Vaakanainen, Jesse Puljujarvi.
- Jesse Puljujarvi (2). Assists: Aleksander Barkov, Sakari Manninen.
- Janne Kuokkanen (1). Assists: Aatu Raty, Henri Jokiharju.
- Jesse Puljujarvi (3). Assists: Aleksander Barkov, Ville Heinola.
Italy (0) vs Canada (6) F
It’s been four years since we last saw Italy at the top division of the IIHF World Championship, but after a second place finish in the Division 1A tournament last spring, they’re back. It was far from an easy start for Italy as their first opponent at the top division after four years was Team Canada, who defeated Sweden on Friday by a score of 5 to 3.
As expected coming into this one, it was all Canada from start to finish. The Italians kept Canada at bay for the first nine minutes of Saturday’s contest before Dylan Holloway opened the scoring with his second of the tournament. Less than a minute later, Canada added another with Fraser Minten scoring his first career goal at the senior men’s level for Canada. With close to three minutes left in the first period, Canadian captain & San Jose Sharks star Macklin Celebrini picked up his first of the tournament, extending the lead to 3-0 after 20 minutes.
Misha Donskov’s group added three more in the second period thanks to Macklin Celebrini, Evan Bouchard (first senior men’s goal) and Ryan O’Reilly, giving Canada a 6-0 lead heading into the second intermission. 38-year-old Cam Talbot stopped all 19 shots he faced against Italy as he tallied his fifth shutout in nine career games at the IIHF World Championship.
Scoring Summary:
Canada
- Dylan Holloway (1). Assists: John Tavares, Ryan O’Reilly.
- Fraser Minten (1). Assists: Connor Brown, Denton Mateychuk.
- Macklin Celebrini (1). Assists: Porter Martone, Darnell Nurse.
- Macklin Celebrini (2). Assists: Dylan Cozens, Sidney Crosby.
- Evan Bouchard (1). Assists: Macklin Celebrini, Gabe Vilardi.
- Ryan O’Reilly (2). Assists: John Tavares, Dylan Holloway.
Switzerland (4) vs Latvia (2) F
After an opening day win over the United States on Friday, Switzerland was looking to make it six points from two games, but standing in their way was Kristers Gudlevskis and Latvia, who are coming off a disappointing 10th place finish in Sweden 12 months ago.
Despite outshooting the Latvians 12-5 in the first period, the host nation was unable to find the back of the net and after 20 minutes, the game was scoreless. Halfway through the second period, Timo Meier broke the deadlock, but Switzerland’s lead didn’t last for long as Rudolfs Balcers equalized for Latvia 1:35 later. With under three minutes remaining in the middle frame, Damien Riat picked up his first of the tournament, giving Switzerland a 2-1 lead after two periods of play.
Less than a minute into the third period, the Swiss extended their lead to two as ZSC Lions defenseman Dean Kukan scored in his home arena, making it 3-1. 12 minutes later, Switzerland would add another as Damien Riat tallied his second of the game to give his nation a 4-1 lead. With 14 seconds remaining in the period, Rudolfs Balcers picked up his second of the game, cutting the deficit to two. Despite their third period penalty trouble, Switzerland would hold on for a 4-2 victory.
Scoring Summary:
Switzerland
- Timo Meier (1). Assists: Nico Hischier, Theo Rochette.
- Damien Riat (1). Assists: Sven Andrighett0, Denis Malgin.
- Dean Kukan (1). Assists: Christian Marti, Timo Meier.
- Damien Riat (2). Assists: Simon Knak, Dean Kukan.
Latvia
- Rudolfs Balcers (1). Assists: Deniss Smirnovs, Sandis Vilmanis.
- Rudolfs Balcers (2). Assists: Sandis Vilmanis, Deniss, Smirnovs.
Slovenia (3) vs Czechia (2) F/OT
The final game in Group B on Saturday saw Slovenia, who avoided relegation thanks to a win over France last year, take on Czechia, who began their 2026 IIHF World Championship campaign with a 4-1 win on Friday over Denmark.
Slovenia got the scoring started in the first period as Matic Torok, who spent this season with Ilves in Finland’s top division, Liiga, made it 1-0 a little less than halfway into the contest. Slovenia would hold onto that 1-0 lead after 20 minutes and for nearly the first five minutes of the second period before Czechia got on the board.
Martin Kaut scored for Czechia 4:44 into the second period, tying the game at 1-1. Czechia continued their pressure in Slovenia’s zone for the majority of the middle frame, outshooting them 15-5, and with a less than three minutes to play, Lukas Sedlak scored to give the Czechs their first lead of the night.
Approaching the halfway mark of the third period, Slovenia shocked everyone and scored their second of the game, courtesy of Anze Kuralt, making it 2-2. It was a much closer third period than the first 40 minutes and thanks to that tying goal from Kuralt, the two teams headed to 3-on-3 overtime.
In the extra frame, Slovenia’s Marcel Mahkovec picked up the loose puck inside his own zone and was off on a breakaway. Jakub Flek attempted to catch Mahkovec, but by the time he did, the 22-year-old Slovenian put the puck in the back of the net, giving his nation their first ever win over Czechia at the IIHF World Championship.
Scoring Summary:
Slovenia
- Matic Torok (1). Assists: Jan Drozg, Robert Sabolic.
- Anze Kuralt (1). Assists: Jan Golicic, Rok Ticar.
- Marcel Mahkovec (1). Assist: Rok Ticar.
Czechia
- Martin Kaut (1). Assist: Matyas Melovsky.
- Lukas Sedlak (1). Assists: Michal Kempny, Jan Mandat.
Standings
Group A
| Nation | GP | W | OT/SOW | OT/SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 | +18 | 12 |
| Finland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 9 |
| Austria | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 9 |
| United States | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 5 |
| Hungary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | +/-0 | 3 |
| Latvia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 3 |
| Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 1 |
| Great Britain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 0 |
Group B
| Nation | GP | W | OT/SOW | OT/SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czechia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 10 |
| Canada | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | +12 | 9 |
| Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 8 |
| Sweden | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 6 |
| Norway | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 6 |
| Slovenia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 17 | -10 | 3 |
| Denmark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 0 |
| Italy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 17 | -15 | 0 |
My 3 Stars of Day 2
- Jesse Puljujarvi (Finland) – 2 goals, 1 assist vs Hungary.
- Macklin Celebrini (Canada) – 2 goals, 1 assist vs Italy.
- Marcel Mahkovic (Slovenia) – Overtime winner vs Czechia.
Day 3 Schedule (Sunday, May 17th)
- United States vs Great Britain (6:20 am ET)
- Italy vs Slovakia (6:20 am ET)
- Austria vs Hungary (10:20 am ET)
- Denmark vs Sweden (10:20 am ET)
- Germany vs Latvia (2:20 pm ET)
- Norway vs Slovenia (2:20 pm ET)
(Image Source: Reuters)