We’ve officially reached the final two days at the 2026 IIHF World Championship as Semifinal Saturday got underway earlier today as the tournament shifted solely to Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, Switzerland.
The first game of the day saw the hosts Switzerland look to advance to a third consecutive Gold Medal Game, something they’ve never done in the nation’s history, taking on a Norwegian side that has never made it to the semifinals at the IIHF World Championship. Meanwhile, the second semifinal saw Sidney Crosby & Canada take on a tough Finnish group that just barely missed out on topping their group.
Switzerland (6) vs Norway (0) F
It was an electric atmosphere at Swiss Life Arena on Saturday as the host nation looked to continue their incredible tournament against Norway, who have shocked the hockey world enroute to their first-ever semifinal in World Championship history. Norway knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game, but whatever happens, they could hold their heads high and be proud of how far they’ve made it.
Norway was able to withstand Switzerland for the majority of the first period before Christoph Bertschy put home his third goal of the tournament with under three minutes to play, giving his nation the all-important 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. In the second period, Switzerland upped the tempo a bit and Norway had a bit of a tough time trying to hang on in this one.
A little over four minutes into the second period, Switzerland doubled their lead courtesy of former NHLer Denis Malgin, who is having a great World Championship thus far. Less than ten minutes later, Ken Jager extended Switzerland’s lead to 3-0 and it was clear at this point that Norway’s chances of getting back into the game were quite slim. With under four minutes remaining in the middle frame, Damien Riat made it 4-0 and for the fifth time in the tournament, Switzerland scored three goals in a single period.
While on the power play early in the third period, Nico Hischier picked up his fifth goal of the 2026 IIHF World Championship to give Switzerland a 5-0 lead. Switzerland wasn’t done putting the puck in the back of the net as later on in the third, former Memorial Cup champion Theo Rochette iced if for his nation, putting them ahead 6-0 with under three minutes to play. For the third time in the tournament, 38-year-old Leonardo Genoni recorded a shutout, as Switzerland advanced to the Gold Medal Game with a 6-0 victory.
Scoring Summary:
Switzerland
- Christoph Bertschy (3). Assists: Nicolas Baechler, Dominik Egli.
- Denis Malgin (5). Assist: Calvin Thurkauf.
- Ken Jager (4). Assists: Sven Jung, Simon Knak.
- Damien Riat (5). Assists: Roman Josi, Sven Andrighetto.
- Nico Hischier (5). Assists: Damien Riat, Sven Andrighetto.
- Theo Rochette (2). Assists: Pius Suter, Attilio Biasca.
Canada (2) vs Finland (4) F
After an upset loss to Denmark in the quarterfinal last year, Canada is back in the semifinals this time around and are seeking their first gold medal at the tournament since 2023. Standing in their way was a Finnish team that has given Canada problems in the past, including in the Gold Medal Game in both 2019 and 2022.
Finland got the scoring started early in the first period as Patrik Puistola put his nation up 1-0 less than four minutes in. Misha Donskov’s group would counter as less than five minutes later, Robert Thomas scored his first goal of the tournament, tying the game up at 1-1. Canada would take their first lead of the night later on in the period as Dylan Holloway sniped one past Justus Annunen to make it 2-1.
Canada felt comfortable with where they were at heading into the first intermission, but Finland took full control of this game in the second period. 49 seconds into the middle frame, Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov slid the puck past Canadian netminder Jet Greaves to knot this game up at 2-2. Then a 3little over ten minutes later, Konsta Helenius put one home to give Finland a 3-2 lead. The Finns added to their lead a minute after Helenius’ goal as Aatu Raty put it into a wide open net, with Jet Greaves losing track of the puck, making it 4-2. In that middle frame, Finland outshot Canada 10-3 and the Canadians knew they needed to clean it up, especially in their own zone, if they want to get back into this one.
In the third period, Canada gave everything they had, throwing 15 shots the way of Justus Annunen, all of which were turned aside as Finland would hold on for a 4-2 win, advancing to their first Gold Medal Game at the IIHF World Championship since 2022, where they won on home ice.
Scoring Summary:
Canada
- Robert Thomas (1). Assists: Dylan Holloway, Denton Mateychuk.
- Dylan Holloway (4). Assists: Macklin Celebrini, Dylan DeMelo.
Finland
- Patrik Puistola (4). Assist: Konsta Helenius.
- Aleksander Barkov (3). Assists: Mikael Granlund, Mikko Lehtonen.
- Konsta Helenius (2). Assists: Mikael Granlund, Aleksander Barkov.
- Aatu Raty (4).
My 3 Stars of the Semifinals
- Leonardo Genoni (Switzerland) – 20 save shutout vs Norway.
- Aleksander Barkov (Finland) – 1 goal, 1 assist vs Canada.
- Justus Annunen (Finland) – 28 saves on 30 shots vs Canada.
Medal Round Schedule (Sunday, May 31st)
- Bronze Medal Game: Canada vs Norway (9:30 am ET)
- Gold Medal Game: Switzerland vs Finland (2:20 pm ET)
(Image Source: Yle)