We’ve entered the middle weekend of the 2025 IIHF World Championship and Saturday brought the tournament’s third triple-header in Herning and Stockholm, with some massive games that have playoff round implications.
The United States and Germany battled in the early game of the day Group B in Herning, followed Czechia vs Kazakhstan, while the co-hosts Denmark capped off the night with a matchup against a win-less Norway. Meanwhile in Group A over in Stockholm, Finland took on Latvia, before co-hosts Sweden faced France in the early evening game, with Sidney Crosby & Canada wrapping things up on Saturday with a game against the Slovaks.
Finland (2) vs Latvia (1) F
Finland came into Day 9 with an opportunity to book their place in the Quarterfinals if they were to defeat Latvia in regulation and have Canada defeat Slovakia later in the day. The Latvians gave Finland all they could handle in the first period and looked like the better team to start things off, with the game scoreless after 20 minutes despite a 12-3 shot advantage for Latvia.
The Finns opened the scoring with Juuso Parssinen of the New York Rangers picking up his third of the tournament to give his nation a 1-0 lead. Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mikko Lehtonen doubled Finland’s lead halfway through the third period. Latvia made a push in the final frame to get back into the game and finally broke through thanks to Philadelphia Flyers forward Rodrigo Abols, who was making his tournament debut on Saturday after flying over at the conclusion of Lehigh Valley’s run in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Juuse Saros shut the door for Finland, making 34 saves in a very important 2-1 win.
Finland
- Juuso Parssinen (3). Assists: Lenni Hameenaho (3), Atro Leppanen (2).
- Mikko Lehtonen (3). Assists: Teuvo Teravainen (8), Eeli Tolvanen (2).
Latvia
- Rodrigo Abols (1). Assists: Rudolfs Balcers (2), Ralfs Freibergs (1).
United States (6) vs Germany (3) F
After blowing a 5-1 lead and having to win in overtime against the Norwegians on Wednesday, the United States returned to action on Saturday as they faced Moritz Seider and Germany, who sat one point ahead of them entering Day 9.
The United States took a 3-0 lead to the dressing room after 20 minutes thanks to goals from Tage Thompson, Frank Nazar and Drew O’Connor, but in the second period, some of those bad habits from the Norway game carried over. Germany scored three goals in less than seven minutes during the middle frame to tie the game at 3-3 heading to the third period. After making a save, German netminder Philipp Grubauer was forced to leave for a short while due to an injury and was replaced by former Barrie Colt Mathias Neiderberger. Neiderberger allowed a goal from Conor Garland, who gave the United States a 4-3 lead with his second of the tournament. A few minutes after Garland’s goal, Grubauer returned to the crease, which was a good sign for the Germans final two games of the preliminary round. The Americans would go on to add two more goals and took this one by a score of 6 to 3, moving into third place in Group B to end the day.
Scoring Summary:
United States
- Tage Thompson (4). Assists: Zach Werenski (2), Conor Garland (3).
- Frank Nazar (3). Assist: Cutter Gauthier (2).
- Drew O’Connor (1). Assist: Tage Thompson (2).
- Conor Garland (2). Assists: Clayton Keller (4), Logan Cooley (4).
- Logan Cooley (3). Assists: Conor Garland (4), Clayton Keller (5).
- Clayton Keller (2). Assists: Frank Nazar (3), Conor Garland (5).
Germany
- Eric Mik (1). Assists: Joshua Samanski (2), Leon Huttl (1).
- Jonas Muller (2). Assists: Dominik Kahun (5), Wojciech Stachowiak (3).
- Wojciech Stachowiak (3). Assists: Marc Michaelis (2), Leon Huttl (2).
France (0) vs Sweden (4) F
Less than 24 hours after their 4-0 win over Slovenia, where they fired 60 shots on net, the co-hosts Sweden were back in action as they looked to further the gap between themselves and Canada atop Group A, for now. Their opponents, France, are coming off a tough loss to the Austrians yesterday, which mathematically eliminated them from Playoff Round contention.
Much like their game against Slovenia, Sweden was all over the French in this one and took a 2-0 lead in the first period with Lucas Raymond and Emil Heineman scoring 58 seconds apart. Early in the second period, Elias Lindholm, who had a hat trick on Friday, picked up his sixth of the tournament to extend Sweden’s lead to 3-0. France only mustered one shot on Samuel Ersson in the second period and found themselves in a big hole heading into the third. Anaheim Ducks forward Isac Lundestrom added a fourth goal for the Swedes a little over four minutes into the final frame to end any hope of France getting back into the game. Samuel Ersson made 15 saves for his second shutout of the tournament.
Scoring Summary:
Sweden
- Lucas Raymond (2). Assists: Leo Carlsson (3), Isac Lundstrom (2).
- Emil Heineman (1). Assists: Anton Bengtsson (1), Jonas Brodin (4).
- Elias Lindholm (6). Assists: Mikael Backlund (4), Lucas Raymond (5).
- Isac Lundestrom (1). Assists: Filip Forsberg (2), Erik Gustafsson (6).
Czechia (8) vs Kazakhstan (1) F
Aside from their win over Norway earlier in the tournament, Kazakhstan has been a bit disappointing at this year’s World Championship and it doesn’t help that they’re without the nation’s top goaltender in Andrei Shutov. On Saturday, it didn’t get any easier as they faced an undefeated Czech squad.
Despite the Czechs getting on the board early in the first period, the opening frame was fairly even, with the shots after 20 being equal at eight a piece. However, Czechia broke the game open in the second period with three goals including one from 39-year-old Roman Cervenka, who was suiting up for his 100th career World Championship game. Czechia would go on to add four more in the third period, with another two from Cervenka to complete the hat trick, while Calgary Flames prospect Adam Klapka, who was playing his first game of the tournament, scored a pair. Utah Mammoth netminder Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves on 22 shots to help Czechia to their fourth straight regulation win and a berth in the Quarterfinals.
Scoring Summary:
Czechia
- Matej Stransky (2). Assists: Ondrej Beranek (3), Filip Pyrochta (1).
- Jakub Flek (3). Assists: Daniel Gazda (2), Adam Klapka (1).
- Matej Stransky (3). Assists: David Spacek (2), Michael Spacek (3).
- Roman Cervenka (3). Assists: David Pastrnak (6), Jakub Krejcik (5).
- Adam Klapka (1). Assist: Libor Hajek (1).
- Roman Cervenka (4). Assist: Filip Pyrochta (2).
- Roman Cervenka (5). Assists: Martin Necas (1), Lukas Sedlak (4).
- Adam Klapka (2). Assists: Jakub Flek (2), Daniel Gazda (3).
Kazakhstan
- Viacheslev Kolesnikov (1). Assists: Dimitry Breus (1), Batyrlan Muratov (1).
Canada (7) vs Slovakia (0) F
Team Canada hasn’t had many issues in the preliminary round up to this point, allowing just two goals in four games, but as is the case most years, their schedule gets harder in their final three group games leading up to the Quarterfinals and on Saturday, they had a date with St. Louis Blues first-rounder Dalibor Dvorsky and the Slovaks.
Brandon Montour, who has been one of the best defensemen on both sides of the puck this tournament, got the scoring started in the first period, with Tyson Foerster doubling the Canadian lead a little over a minute later. Early on in the first period, Canadian captain Sidney Crosby got his third goal of the tournament to put his nation up 3-0. 18-year-old Macklin Celebrini and reigning Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon scored 51 seconds apart later on in the second period to give Canada a 5-0 lead heading to the dressing room. Cole Harbour’s Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon both doubled down in the third period, putting Canada up 7-0, which is the most goals the nation has ever scored in a game against Slovakia. Meanwhile, Jordan Binnington got the start between the pipes and while he wasn’t tested often, he made 15 saves for his second shutout of the 2025 IIHF World Championship and proving to everyone that the starting role at February’s Winter Olympics is his. With the victory on Saturday, Canada officially booked their spot in the Playoff Round.
Scoring Summary:
Canada
- Brandon Montour (2). Assists: Travis Konecny (5), Sidney Crosby (4).
- Tyson Foerster (1). Assists: Ryker Evans (1), Macklin Celebrini (2).
- Sidney Crosby (3). Assists: Macklin Celebrini (3), Brandon Montour (7).
- Macklin Celebrini (2). Assists: Sidney Crosby (4), Mike Matheson (1).
- Nathan MacKinnon (5). Assists: Bo Horvat (4), Mike Matheson (2).
- Sidney Crosby (4). Assists: Noah Dobson (2), Travis Konecny (6).
- Nathan MacKinnon (6). Assist: Will Cuylle (2).
Denmark (6) vs Norway (3) F
The final game of the day in Group B saw co-hosts Denmark face Norway, who are facing the threat of relegation and a trip to the Division 1A tournament for the first time since 2005. After starting the tournament with three straight losses to their three toughest opponents in the preliminary round, Denmark has won back-to-back contests and were looking to extend that winning streak to three games on Saturday.
Denmark got a massive boost ahead of the game, with Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonas Rondbjerg being registered after making the trip over the Atlantic following his team’s elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rondbjerg played a big role in Saturday’s game, scoring twice, while former Niagara IceDogs and Sudbury Wolves forward Mikkel Aagaard, who had a hat trick yesterday against Hungary, picked up his fifth of the tournament. Former Montreal Canadiens prospect Frederik Dichow made 24 saves in the victory today, which pushed Norway to the brink of relegation. Norway has just one game remaining in the tournament as they face Hungary on Monday and with a loss in any fashion, they’ll be relegated to Division 1A for the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
Scoring Summary:
Denmark
- Patrick Russell (2). Assists: Oscar Fisker Molgaard (4), Joachim Blichfeld (5).
- Mikkel Aagaard (5). Assists: Nicklas Jensen (5), Oscar Fisker Molgaard (5).
- Jonas Rondbjerg (1). Assists: Patrick Russell (3), Nicklas Jensen (6).
- Joachim Blichfeld (2). Assists: Phillip Bruggisser (2), Christian Wejse (1).
- Jonas Rondbjerg (2).
- Nick Olesen (3). Assists: Joachim Bichfeld (6), Christian Wejse (2).
Norway
- Eirik Salsten (1). Assists: Stian Solberg (1), Jacob Berglund (3).
- Jacob Berglund (2).
- Thomas Olsen (1). Assists: Martin Johnsen (1), Stian Solberg (2).
Standings After Day 9
Group A
- Sweden (6 GP, 6 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 25 GF, 3 GA, +22, 18 PTS) – Q
- Canada (5 GP, 5 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 28 GF, 2 GA, +26, 15 PTS) – Q
- Finland (5 GP, 3 W, 1 OTW, 0 OTL, 1 L, 18 GF, 8 GA, +10, 11 PTS) – Q
- Slovakia (5 GP, 2 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 2 L, 7 GF, 17 GA, -10, 6 PTS)
- Latvia (5 GP, 2 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 3 L, 11 GF, 18 GA, -7, 6 PTS)
- Austria (5 GP, 1 W, 1 OTW, 0 OTL, 3 L, 12 GF, 14 GA, -2, 5 PTS)
- France (6 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 5 L, 7 GF, 24 GA, -17, 1 PTS) – E
- Slovenia (5 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 5 L, 4 GF, 25 GA, -21, 0 PTS) – E
Group B
- Czechia (5 GP, 4 W, 1 OTW, 0 OTL, 0 L, 28 GF, 9 GA, +19, 14 PTS) – Q
- Switzerland (5 GP, 4 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 0 L, 20 GF, 8 GA, +12, 13 PTS) – Q
- United States (5 GP, 3 W, 1 OTW, 0 OTL, 1 L, 23 GF, 11 GA, +12, 11 PTS)
- Germany (5 GP, 3 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 2 L, 19 GF, 15 GA, +4, 9 PTS)
- Denmark (6 GP, 3 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 3 L, 23 GF, 23 GA, +/-0, 9 PTS)
- Hungary (5 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 4 L, 8 GF, 28 GA, -20, 3 PTS) – E
- Kazakhstan (5 GP, 1 W, 0 OTW, 0 OTL, 4 L, 7 GF, 22 GA, -15, 3 PTS) – E
- Norway (6 GP, 0 W, 0 OTW, 1 OTL, 5 L, 12 GF, 24 GA, -12, 1 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 9
- Conor Garland (United States) – 1 goal, 3 assists in win vs Germany.
- Roman Cervenka (Czechia) – 3 goals in win vs Kazakhstan.
- Sidney Crosby (Canada) – 2 goals, 2 assists in win vs Slovakia.
Day 10 Schedule (Sunday, May 18th)
- Slovenia vs Austria (10:20 am ET)
- Kazakhstan vs United States (10:20 am ET)
- Slovakia vs Latvia (2:20 pm ET)
- Hungary vs Switzerland (2:20 pm ET)
Photo Credit: IIHF via Sportnet – SME.