We’ve reached Day 3 of the 2025 IIHF World Championship and while it’s still quite early in the tournament, every single game and every single point matters and if you drop any points now, it could come back to bite you later in the preliminary round.
On Sunday, fans were treated to yet another triple-header at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, the second of four throughout the tournament, with several of the gold medal contenders in action including Canada and Czechia.
Slovakia (3) vs Slovenia (1) F
The first game of the day in Stockholm saw Slovakia take on Slovenia, both of whom were in desperate need of a win after dropping their first contest of the tournament to Sweden on Friday and Canada on Saturday, respectively. The last time these two nations met was the 2023 World Championship in a tight 1-0 win for the Slovaks. Slovakia turned to Minnesota Wild prospect Samuel Hlavaj between the pipes and while he didn’t make nearly as many saves as his Slovenian counterpart Matija Pintaric, he kept his team in it, especially in the third period when he faced ten shots, stopping all but one thanks to a goal from Ken Ograjensek. Slovakia took a 2-0 lead in the first period, including one from San Jose Sharks prospect Pavol Regenda. They added a third goal in the middle frame and held on for a 3-1 win.
Scoring Summary:
Slovakia
- Sebastian Cederle (1). Assist: Adam Sykora (1).
- Pavol Regenda (1). Assists: Samuel Knazko (1), Mario Grman (1).
- Michal Kristof (1). Assists: Robert Lantosi (1), David Mudrak (1).
Slovenia
- Ken Ograjensek (1). Assists: Robert Sabolic (1), Rok Macuh (1).
United States (6) vs Hungary (0) F
After a dominant win over the co-hosts Denmark on Friday, the United States were back in action on Sunday taking on Hungary, who are coming off a 6-1 loss to the Germans yesterday. After a fairly even start to the first period, the Americans got on the board with less than six minutes remaining with Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar picking up his first of the tournament. Less than three minutes later, Nazar doubled down to give the United States a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Halfway through the middle frame, Anaheim Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier extended the US’ lead to 3-0. Gauthier and Conor Garland scored 41 seconds apart in the first two minutes of the third period to put the Americans up 5-0, with Utah Mammoth forward Logan Cooley added a sixth. Jeremy Swayman made 13 saves for his second career shutout at the World Championship.
Scoring Summary:
United States
- Frank Nazar (1). Assists: Logan Cooley (1), Conor Garland (2).
- Frank Nazar (2). Assists: Shane Pinto (1), Mason Lohrei (2).
- Cutter Gauthier (2). Assists: Matty Beniers (1), Will Smith (2).
- Cutter Gauthier (3). Assists: Will Smith (3), Alex Vlasic (1).
- Conor Garland (1). Assists: Shane Pinto (2), Frank Nazar (2).
Germany (4) vs Kazakhstan (1) F
The Kazakhs began their World Championship schedule on Saturday with a big win over Norway, which could help them down the line, and the next team standing between them and getting to the playoff round is Germany, who scored six yesterday against Hungary. Nikita Mikhailis, who has been a mainstay on the Kazakh national team since 2017, opened the scoring in the first period. Seven minutes later, Germany got on the board, as Maximilian Kastner picked up his first of the tournament to tie the game at 1-1 after the opening frame. Kastner’s marker was the first of four unanswered goals for the Germans, with Wojciech Stachowiak, Lukas Reichel and Lukas Kalble extending their nation’s lead to 4-0. Former Barrie Colts goaltender Mathias Neiderberger made 20 saves for his 18th career win at the IIHF World Championship in his 27th game.
Scoring Summary:
Germany
- Maximilian Kastner (1). Assists: Alexander Ehl (1), Moritz Seider (1).
- Wojciech Stachowiak (1). Assists: Dominik Kahun (1), Justin Schutz (3).
- Lukas Reichel (1). Assists: Frederik Tiffels (1), Lukas Kalble (1).
- Lukas Kalble (2). Assists: Alexander Ehl (1), Maximilian Kastner (2).
Kazakhstan
- Nikita Mikhailis (1). Assist: Arkadiy Shestakov (1).
Latvia (1) vs Canada (7) F
Canada and Latvia have had some great battles at the IIHF World Championship in recent years including a 2-0 win for the Latvians back in 2021. Both nations were coming off wins on Saturday and it was a solid start for the Latvians today as Eduards Tralmaks scored the game’s first goal to go up 1-0. Latvia’s lead didn’t last too long as Travis Konecny and Nathan MacKinnon scored a minute apart to put Canada up 2-1 heading into the intermission. Canada exploded for three more goals in the middle frame, including a pair from Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson. 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini and Barrett Hayton scored in the third period as Canada walked away with a 7-1 win and now have 11 goals for in their first two games. 40-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury, who was making his senior men’s national team debut, made 16 saves in the win.
Scoring Summary:
Latvia
- Eduards Tralmaks (1). Assist: Dans Locmelis (1).
Canada
- Travis Konecny (1). Assists: Travis Sanheim (1), Sidney Crosby (1).
- Nathan MacKinnon (2). Assist: Bo Horvat (1).
- Kent Johnson (1). Assists: Brandon Montour (2), Sidney Crosby (2).
- Kent Johnson (2).
- Travis Konecny (2).
- Macklin Celebrini (1). Assists: Travis Konecny (2), Sidney Crosby (3).
- Barrett Hayton (1). Assist: Phillip Danault (1).
Finland (4) vs France (3) F/OT
The final game of the day in Group A brought plenty of excitement and we were less than 30 seconds away from one of the biggest upsets in the modern history of the IIHF World Championship. While Finland certainly doesn’t have their best roster, they struggled to find the back of the net for the majority of this game thanks in part to an incredible effort by French goaltender and Washington Capitals prospect Antoine Keller. France’s Kevin Bozon scored the game’s first goal, which didn’t come until nearly the halfway point of the second period. Later on in the middle frame, Chicago Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen scored for the Finns, tying the game at 1-1 after 40 minutes. In the third period, former Montreal Canadiens prospect Tim Bozon gave France their second lead of the game and with under three minutes to play, Jordann Perret added an empty netter, which everyone thought sealed it for France, but the Finns had other plans. With their net empty, Eeli Tolvanen of the Seattle Kraken scored twice to force overtime, where New York Rangers forward Juuso Parssinen won the game after sliding the puck on his backhand through the five hole of Antoine Keller.
Scoring Summary:
Finland
- Teuvo Teravainen (1). Assists: Mikko Lehtonen (1), Vili Saarijarvi (1).
- Eeli Tolvanen (1). Assist: Mikko Lehtonen (2).
- Eeli Tolvanen (2). Assists: Mikko Lehtonen (3), Teuvo Teravainen (1).
- Juuso Parssinen (2). Assists: Eeli Tolvanen (1), Juho Lammikko (1).
France
- Kevin Bozon (1). Assists: Kevin Spinozzi (1), Tim Bozon (1).
- Tim Bozon (1). Assists: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (1), Jordann Perret (1).
- Jordan Perret (1). Assist: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (2).
Norway (1) vs Czechia (2) F
Over in Herning, the Norwegians and Czechs capped off the day with a low scoring affair, thanks to a 31-save performance from goaltender Jonas Arntzen. After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the two nations got going in the second period, with Jakub Flek putting Czechia on the board just over two minutes into the middle frame. Nearly six minutes later, Anaheim Ducks prospect Stian Solberg tied the game for Norway at 1-1. Just over five minutes after Solberg’s equalizer, Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak scored Czechia’s second goal of the night, giving them a 2-1 lead and their first regulation win of the tournament.
Scoring Summary:
Norway
- Stian Solberg (1). Assists: Jacob Berglund (1), Eirik Salsten (1).
Czechia
- Jakub Flek (1). Assists: Jakub Krejcik (2), Jakub Lauko (1).
- David Pastrnak (1). Assists: Roman Cervenka (3), Filip Hronek (2).
Standings After Day 3
Group A
- Canada (2 GP, 2 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 11 GF, 1 GA, +10, 6 PTS)
- Sweden (2 GP, 2 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 9 GF, 2 GA, +7, 6 PTS)
- Finland (2 GP, 1 W, 1 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 6 GF, 4 GA, +2, 5 PTS)
- Latvia (2 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 1 L, 5 GF, 8 GA, -3, 3 PTS)
- Slovakia (2 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 3 GF, 6 GA, -3, 3 PTS)
- France (2 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 1 L, 4 GF, 8 GA, -4, 1 PTS)
- Austria (2 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 2 L, 3 GF, 6 GA, -1, 0 PTS)
- Slovenia (2 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 2 L, 1 GF, 7 GA, -4, 0 PTS)
Group B
- United States (2 GP, 2 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 11 GF, 0 GA, +11, 6 PTS)
- Germany (2 GP, 2 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 10 GF, 2 GA, +8, 6 PTS)
- Czechia (2 GP, 1 W, 1 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 7 GF, 5 GA, +1, 5 PTS)
- Switzerland (2 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 0 L, 9 GF, 7 GA, +2, 4 PTS)
- Kazakhstan (2 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 1 L, 3 GF, 5 GA, -2, 3 PTS)
- Norway (2 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 2 L, 2 GF, 4 GA, -2, 0 PTS)
- Denmark (2 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 2 L, 2 GF, 10 GA, -8, 0 PTS)
- Hungary (2 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 2 L, 1 GF, 12 GA, -11, 0 PTS)
My Three Stars of Day 3
- Frank Nazar (United States) – 2 goals, 1 assist in win vs Hungary.
- Travis Konecny (Canada) – 2 goals, 1 assist in win vs Latvia.
- Antoine Keller (France) – 47 saves on 51 shots in overtime loss to Finland.
Day 3 Schedule (Monday, May 12th)
- Austria vs Slovakia (10:20 am ET)
- United States vs Switzerland (10:20 am ET)
- Finland vs Sweden (2:20 pm ET)
- Czechia vs Denmark (2:20 pm ET)