After an entertaining preliminary round, which featured several upsets, the quarterfinals at the 2026 IIHF World Championship was officially upon us on Thursday in Fribourg & Zurich, Switzerland.
The first two quarterfinals of the day saw Finland, who finished second in Group A after a tough loss to Switzerland on the final day of the preliminary round, facing Czechia, while Canada took on their longtime rivals the United States for a place in the semifinals.
In the evening games in Fribourg and Zurich, 7-0-0-0 Switzerland faced Sweden, who just squeaked into the playoff round, while Norway, the biggest surprise at this year’s tournament as they finished second in Group B, faced off against a Latvian side making their third trip to the quarterfinals in the last 16 years.
Finland (4) vs Czechia (1) F
After an impressive showing in the preliminary round, Finland took on Czechia to open up the quarterfinals in Zurich on Thursday. The Finns were looking to avoid a fourth straight quarterfinal exit at the IIHF World Championship, while Czechia was seeking their fourth semifinal appearance in the last ten tournaments.
Less than eight minutes into the opening frame, Finland got the scoring started. Sakari Manninen picked up his second of the tournament to give Finland a 1-0 lead. Seven minutes later, Florida Panthers forward Anton Lundell jumped on a rebound and put it past Czech netminder Josef Korenar to make it 2-0 Finland, which is where things would stand after the first period.
In the second period, the Finns added to their lead. Buffalo Sabres forward Konsta Helenius scored his first goal of the 2026 IIHF World Championship to give his nation a 3-0 lead 1:35 into the middle frame. Czechia would get one back in the second period as Filip Hronek wired home a slapshot while on a 5-on-3 power play, cutting Finland’s lead to two.
Finland ended up being too much to handle for Czechia in the third period as they outshot their opponent 11 to 5, with Lenni Hameenaho restoring his nation’s three-goal lead with less than five minutes left in the game. The Finns would hold on for a 4-1 victory over Czechia, advancing to their first semifinal at the IIHF World Championship since 2022.
Scoring Summary:
Finland
- Sakari Manninen (2). Assist: Jesse Puljujarvi.
- Anton Lundell (4). Assists: Lenni Hameenaho, Urho Vaakanainen.
- Konsta Helenius (1). Assists: Aleksander Barkov, Mikael Granlund.
- Lenni Hameenaho (3). Assist: Sakari Manninen.
Czechia
- Filip Hronek (1). Assists: Dominik Kubalik, Roman Cervenka.
Canada (4) vs United States (0) F
In Fribourg, Canada and the United States met for the first time at the IIHF World Championship since the semifinals in 2021. The United States came into the tournament as the defending gold medalists, but just squeaked into the playoff round after a slow start. Canada on the other hand was looking to advance to their tenth semifinal in the last 11 tournaments.
Early in the first period, the United States got themselves into some penalty trouble as defenseman Ryan Lindgren picked up a five-minute major and a game misconduct following a dangerous hit on Canada’s Evan Bouchard. Thankfully for the Americans, Canada was unable to capitalize on that extended power play. Later on in the opening frame, while on the power play, Macklin Celebrini put home his sixth of the tournament to give Canada a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Canada would double their lead nearly halfway through the second period as Dylan Holloway picked up his third goal of the tournament and first since their second game of the preliminary round against Italy, making it 2-0. The United States continued to push for their first goal of the night, but Canadian netminder Jet Greaves was a brick wall.
Late in the third period, Canada would put this game to bed as Connor Brown and Sidney Crosby scored empty netters 40 seconds apart, making it 4-0 and securing their spot in the semifinals. Jet Greaves turned aside all 34 American shots he faced on Thursday for his first shutout of the tournament and his first shutout in a Team Canada uniform.
Scoring Summary:
Canada
- Macklin Celebrini (6). Assists: Mark Scheifele, Denton Mateychuk.
- Dylan Holloway (3). Assist: Mark Scheifele.
- Connor Brown (2). Assists: Zach Whitecloud, Ryan O’Reilly.
- Sidney Crosby (1). Assist: Dylan Cozens.
Switzerland (3) vs Sweden (1) F
Switzerland has been the most complete team this entire tournament, doing so while playing in front of their home fans. The Swiss finished the preliminary round with a 7-0-0-0 record, 39 goals for and just seven scored against them. Standing in their way of a spot in the semifinals was Sweden, who beat out Slovakia for the last quarterfinal spot in Group B on the final day of the preliminary round.
A tad over six minutes into the first period, Sweden took a 1-0 lead as Linus Karlsson found the back of the net for the second time in the tournament. 25 seconds after Karlsson opened the scoring, Swiss defenseman Dean Kukan was ejected from the game after cross checking Ivar Stenberg in the neck/head area. Sweden thought they took a 2-0 lead while on the power play, however after review it was determined the puck was kicked into the net and it remained 1-0.
Switzerland managed to kill off the five-minute major, which got them a loud ovation from their fans at Swiss Life Arena. The Swiss would go on to tie the game in the latter stages of the opening frame, with captain Roman Josi scoring his fifth of the tournament to make it 1-1.
The Swiss would take the lead for the first time in the game early in the second period as over 12 minutes in, Denis Malgin put his nation up 2-1. Less than four minutes later, Switzerland doubled their lead courtesy of Calvin Thurkauf’s third of the 2026 IIHF World Championship as they took a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.
38-year-old Swiss netminder Leonardo Genoni was solid in this game, making 21 saves, including 12 in the third period, as the host nation advanced to their third consecutive semifinal at the IIHF World Championship.
Scoring Summary:
Switzerland
- Roman Josi (5). Assist: Denis Malgin.
- Denis Malgin (4). Assists: Roman Josi, JJ Moser.
- Calvin Thurkauf (3). Assists: Nico Hischier, Roman Josi.
Sweden
- Linus Karlsson (2). Assists: Emil Heineman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Norway (2) vs Latvia (0) F
Norway’s impressive tournament continued on Thursday as for the first time in 14 years, they played in the quarterfinals at the IIHF World Championship, while Latvia was making their third trip to the playoff round since 2018. Both Norway and Latvia have gotten some great goaltending in the tournament thus far and Thursday’s quarterfinal was no exception.
After a scoreless opening frame, with Latvia outshooting Norway 7 to 6, it was the Norwegians who would find the back of the net first in this contest. A little over seven minutes into the middle frame, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Tinus Luc Koblar continued his strong showing at the World Championship, picking up his sixth of the tournament to give Norway a 1-0 lead, which they would hold onto heading to the third period.
In the third period, Latvia stepped up their game, throwing 19 shots the way of Henrik Haukeland, all of which he turned aside. With 15 seconds left in the game, Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Noah Steen put it into the empty net, giving Norway a 2-0 win and sending his nation to the semifinals for the first time in IIHF World Championship history. Henrik Haukeland stopped all 34 shots he faced for his third shutout of the tournament and has certainly put himself in the MVP conversation.
Scoring Summary:
Norway
- Tinus Luc Koblar (6). Assists: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Sander Hurrod.
- Noah Steen (6).
My 3 Stars of the Quarterfinals
- Jet Greaves (Canada) – 34 save shutout vs United States.
- Henrik Haukeland (Norway) – 34 save shutout vs Latvia.
- Roman Josi (Switzerland) – 1 goal, 2 assists vs Sweden.
Semifinal Schedule (Saturday, May 30th)
- Switzerland vs Norway (9:20 am ET)
- Canada vs Finland (2 pm ET)
(Image Source: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / NTB)