The penultimate day of the preliminary round at the 2025 IIHF World Championship was a tense one, with one nation’s relegation fate being decided earlier on Monday, and two other nation climbing out of last place in their respective groups to remain in the top division in 2026 in Switzerland.
Aside from the Czechia-Germany tilt in Group B, it was a relatively low-scoring day at the IIHF World Championship and that’ll likely be the case going forward for the remainder of the tournament as team’s tighten up defensively and scoring chances drop off quite a bit, but it was a big day in the relegation picture, as mentioned.
France (1) vs Slovenia (3) F
The situation was very simple heading into the first game of the day at Avicii Arena in Stockolm – win and you remain in the top division for the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, lose and you’re relegated for next year’s Division 1A tournament.
Slovenia was looking to remain in the top division for back-to-back years for the first time since 2005 & 2006 and they opened the scoring in the first period thanks to Zan Jazovsek, who plays in the third tier in Germany. Nik Simsic doubled Slovenia’s lead with less than four minutes remaining in the opening frame, with his first of the tournament.
After a scoreless second period, France tried their hardest to get back into this one to avoid being relegated for the first time since 2019 and with under two minutes to play, former Montreal Canadiens prospect Tim Bozon cut Slovenia’s lead to one. However, that was as far as France got as Matic Torok sealed the victory for Slovenia with an empty netter with 15 second left.
Lukas Horak, who has been sensational throughout his first IIHF World Championship after gaining Slovenian citizenship in April, came up clutch on Monday, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced from the French.
With the loss, France will be playing in the Division 1A tournament for the first time since 2007. Despite being relegated in 2019, the French never ended up playing in a D1A game for a few reasons – 2020 tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19, 2021 tournament featured no lower divisions and in 2022, they were brought back up to the top division by the IIHF after Belarus and Russia were banned due to to the invasion of Ukraine.
Scoring Summary:
France
- Tim Bozon (2). Assist: Alexandre Texier (3).
Slovenia
- Zan Jazovsek (1). Assists: Bine Masic (1), Rok Kapel (1).
- Nik Simsic (1). Assists: Rok Kapel (2), Marcel Mahkovec (3).
- Matic Torok (1).
Germany (0) vs Czechia (5) F
Over in Group B, Germany were looking to further the gap between them and Denmark for the final Quarterfinal spot, with those two nations doing battle on the final day of the preliminary round tomorrow.
Germany turned to former Barrie Colts goaltender Mathias Niederberger for Monday’s date with the Czechs, likely because they wanted Philipp Grubauer between the pipes for tomorrow’s do-or-die against the Danes. The decision made today by German Head Coach Harold Kreis ended up biting his team in the behind as Czechia were determined right from the moment the puck dropped to take over first place in Group B.
Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak got the scoring started in the first period with his fifth goal and 12th point of the tournament, which has him tied for the lead with his Czech teammate Roman Cervenka. The Czechs would go on to score four more goals in this one including a pair from Jakub Flek, one from Lukas Sedlak and Jakub Lauko’s first of the 2025 IIHF World Championship as they walked away with a 5-0 win. Calgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar made 19 saves for his first shutout in his first-ever tournament with the Czech senior men’s national team.
Scoring Summary:
Czechia
- David Pastrnak (5). Assists: Martin Necas (2), Roman Cervenka (6).
- Lukas Sedlak (4). Assists: David Pastrnak (7), Roman Cervenka (7).
- Jakub Flek (4). Assists: Daniel Vozenilek (3), Jakub Krejcik (6).
- Jakub Lauko (1).
- Jakub Flek (5). Assists: Martin Necas (3), Filip Hronek (6).
Canada (1) vs Finland (2) F/SO
Canada and Finland have met in the Gold Medal Game at four of the last eight IIHF World Championships and if today’s game was any indication, there’s a real possibility that the two nations could be facing each other once again next Sunday in the Final.
After a scoreless opening frame, Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators picked up his first of the tournament in the second period while shorthanded on a slick pass from New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson to give Canada a 1-0 lead. Canada would go on to hold that lead for roughly ten minutes before Patrik Puistola tied the game up for the Finns seven minutes into the third period.
After a fierce and physical 60 minutes, the two nations headed to overtime, which was a first for Canada at this year’s tournament after winning their first five games in regulation. Overtime solved nothing and we needed a shootout to determine the winner, where Patrik Puistola and Eeli Tolvanen scored for the Finns, giving them a massive 2-1 win over Canada, which furthered the gap between them and Latvia, meaning Finland can finish no lower than third in Group A.
Scoring Summary:
Canada
- Ryan O’Reilly (1). Assist: Noah Dobson (3).
Finland
- Patrik Puistola (2). Assists: Nikolas Matinpalo (1), Hannes Bjorninen (2).
Hungary (0) vs Norway (1) F
Norway was in a similar situation as France and Slovenia on Monday as a loss in any fashion would see them relegated to Division 1A, which is somewhere they haven’t been since 2005. It’s been a very disappointing tournament for Norway, losing all six of their games coming into action today, but with a bright future involving Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Stian Solberg and Noah Steen, the nation is set up well for the years to come.
On the other side of the ice was a Hungarian squad who came into the day with three points in the tournament and with even just one point, could confirm their appearance at the top division next year. Hungary hasn’t made back-to-back appearances at a top division of the World Championship since 1937 and 1938 when there was just one division featuring 13 teams.
It was very low-scoring affair in Herning for this one, with both nations playing a strong defensive game, while also getting into a bit of penalty trouble throughout, with Hungary taking four minor penalties and Norway had six.
A little less than six and a half minutes into the opening frame, Detroit Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard found Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Noah Steen on a two-on-one to give the Norwegians a 1-0 lead. Steen’s goal was the only one of the game as Norway picked up a 1-0 win and will remain in the top division of the World Championship for 20 straight years (19 tournaments due to 2020 tournament cancellation).
Relegation in Group B will have to wait until tomorrow, the final day of the preliminary round, and the scenario is quite simple. If Kazakhstan picks up a point against Switzerland, they’ll remain in the top division for 2026 and Hungary will be relegated. On the flip side, if Kazakhstan loses in regulation, they’ll be relegated to Division 1A. Kazakhstan hasn’t played in Division 1A since 2019 when they hosted the tournament in Astana and won gold.
Scoring Summary:
Norway
- Noah Steen (2). Assist: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (4).
Standings After Day 11
Group A
- Sweden (6 GP, 6 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 25 GF, 3 GA, +22, 18 PTS) – Q
- Canada (6 GP, 5 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 0 L, 29 GF, 4 GA, +25, 16 PTS) – Q
- Finland (6 GP, 3 W, 2 OTW, 0 OTL, 1 L, 20 GF, 9 GA, +11, 13 PTS) – Q
- Latvia (6 GP, 3 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 3 L, 16 GF, 19 GA, -3, 9 PTS)
- Austria (6 GP, 1 W, 2 OTW, 0 OTL, 3 L, 15 GF, 12 GA, -2, 7 PTS)
- Slovakia (6 GP, 2 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 3 L, 8 GF, 22 GA, -14, 6 PTS) – E
- Slovenia (7 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 5 L, 9 GF, 29 GA, -20, 4 PTS) – E
- France (7 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 6 L, 8 GF, 27 GA, -19, 1 PTS) – R
Group B
- Czechia (6 GP, 5 W, 1 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 33 GF, 9 GA, +24, 17 PTS) – Q
- Switzerland (6 GP, 5 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 0 L, 30 GF, 8 GA, +22, 16 PTS) – Q
- United States (6 GP, 4 W, 1 OTW, 0 OTL, 1 L, 29 GF, 12 GA, +17, 14 PTS) – Q
- Germany (6 GP, 3 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 3 L, 19 GF, 20 GA, -1, 9 PTS)
- Denmark (6 GP, 3 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 3 L, 23 GF, 23 GA, +/-0, 9 PTS)
- Norway (7 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 5 L, 13 GF, 24 GA, -11, 4 PTS) – E
- Hungary (7 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 6 L, 8 GF, 39 GA, -31, 3 PTS) – E
- Kazakhstan (6 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 5 L, 8 GF, 28 GA, -20, 3 PTS) – E
- Q – Qualified for Playoff Round.
- E – Elimination from Playoff Round contention.
- R – Relegated to Division 1A for 2026.
My Three Stars of Day 11
- Jakub Flek (Czechia) – 2 goals in win vs Germany.
- Lukas Horak (Slovenia) – 28 saves on 29 shots in win vs France.
- Juuse Saros (Finland) – 37 saves on 38 shots in win vs Canada.
Day 12 Schedule (Tuesday, May 20th)
- Latvia vs Austria (6:20 am ET)
- Switzerland vs Kazakhstan (6:20 am ET)
- Slovakia vs Finland (10:20 am ET)
- Czechia vs United States (10:20 am ET)
- Sweden vs Canada (2:20 pm ET)
- Germany vs Denmark (2:20 pm ET)
Photo Credit: VG.no/IIHF.