Day 10 at the 2026 IIHF World Championship is in the books and with the preliminary round winding down, it was yet another important day for nations vying for a spot in the playoff round, while all eyes were on the relegation battle taking place in Group B in Fribourg.
The first game of the day in Group A saw Great Britain taking on Latvia, who needed a win to hop into a quarterfinal spot, for now, while over in Group B, Denmark faced Italy as both nations looked to avoid relegation. In the second set of games on Day 10, Canada and Finland looked to remain undefeated as they took on Slovakia and Austria, respectively.
Great Britain (0) vs Latvia (6) F
There was a lot riding on this game for Great Britain and their chances of remaining in the top division next year. A regulation loss for Peter Russell’s against Latvia would confirm their relegation back to the Division 1A tournament for 2027.
Great Britain did all they could to withhold the Latvian attack in the first period, but close to halfway through the opening frame, Martins Dzierkals gave his nation a 1-0 lead. Latvia would add two more in the first period thanks to Deniss Smirnovs and Rudolfs Balcers and took a 3-0 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes.
In the second period, Latvia continued to pour it on. Eduard Tralmaks, who was making his tournament debut on Sunday, scored to make it 4-0 a little over two minutes into the opening frame. Later on in the period, Haralds Egle extended Latvia’s lead to 5-0 with his second of the tournament before Renars Krastenbergs added a sixth with less than two minutes remaining in the middle frame.
The third period was a bit closer, with Latvia having the edge in shots (7-4), but Great Britain couldn’t break through as Kristers Gudlevskis held on to make 19 saves for his second shutout of the tournament. With the loss, Great Britain will be heading back to Division 1A next year.
Scoring Summary:
Latvia
- Martins Dzierkals (2). Assists: Haralds Egle, Eduards Tralmaks.
- Deniss Smirnovs (2). Assists: Miks Tumanovs, Sandis Vilmanis.
- Rudolfs Balcers (6). Assists: Deniss Smirnovs, Roberts Mamcics.
- Eduards Tralmaks (1). Assists: Rudolfs Balcers, Alberts Smits.
- Haralds Egle (2). Assist: Eduards Tralmaks.
- Renars Krastenbergs (1). Assists: Sandis Vilmanis, Alberts Smits.
Denmark (3) vs Italy (2) F/SO
After starting the tournament 0-0-0-5, Italy looked to take advantage of a Danish team, who have also struggled at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, registering just one win in five games coming into action on Sunday.
It was a very quick start to the game for Denmark as Christian Wejse gave his nation a 1-0 lead 2:33 into the first period. Denmark wasn’t done there was just 16 seconds later, former Niagara IceDogs & Sudbury Wolves forward Mikkel Aagaard put home his fifth goal of the tournament, extending his team’s lead to 2-0.
With that hot start, it looked like Italy was staring down a blowout, however they not only did they get back into this game, they outshot the Danes in this one. A tad over a minute into the middle frame, Italy brought this within one as former Peterborough Petes forward Tommy Purdeller scored his first of the World Championship. With less than five minutes to play in the second, Purdeller doubled down, tying the game up at 2-2.
A tight third period resulted in no goals being scored either way, as Denmark and Italy headed to overtime. Italy had a number of chances in the extra frame, but were unable to put a third past Mads Sogaard.. For just the third time in the tournament, a shootout was required and only one shooter found the back of the net – Patrick Russell, who gave Denmark their second win in as many games as they improve to 1-1-0-4 and avoid relegation.
Scoring Summary:
Denmark
- Christian Wejse (1). Assists: Phillip Bruggisser, Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup.
- Mikkel Aagaard (5). Assists: Nick Olesen, Kasper Larsen.
Italy
- Tommy Purdeller (1). Assists: Mikael Frycklund, Carmine Buono.
- Tommy Purdeller (2). Assists: Mikael Frycklund, Alex Trivellato.
Finland (5) vs Austria (2) F
It’s been an excellent tournament thus far for Finland as they enter Sunday’s game against Austria undefeated at 5-0-0-0 and have only allowed five goals against thanks to some stellar goaltending from both Joonas Korpisalo & Justus Annunen. For Austria, after starting with three regulation wins, they’ve dropped back-to-back games and have been outscored 15-2.
The Finns got the scoring going in the latter stages of the first period as Anaheim Ducks forward Mikael Granlund picked up his first of the tournament to make it 1-0 after 20 minutes. In the middle frame, Finland kept the pressure on Austria and it paid off a little over three minutes in as Saku Maenalanen put home his second of the 2026 IIHF World Championship to give his nation a big 2-0 lead.
Just over halfway through the second period, Jesse Puljujarvi continued his impressive tournament as he scored his fourth to make it 3-0 Finland. Less than a minute after Puljujarvi’s goal, Sakari Manninen extended Finland’s lead to 4-0, which is where things would stand after two period.
Austria and Finland would trade chances in the third period, but it was the former who would get on the board first in the final frame courtesy of Benjamin Nissner’s third of the tournament. A little over four minutes later, Patrik Puistola restored Finland’s four-goal lead, making it 5-1. The Austrians added another with under two minutes remaining in the final frame, but it was too little, too late as Finland held on for a 5-2 victory to improve to 6-0-0-0.
Scoring Summary:
Finland
- Mikael Granlund (1). Assists: Aleksander Barkov, Ville Heinola.
- Saku Maenalanen (3). Assists: Waltteri Merela, Vili Saarijarvi.
- Jesse Puljujarvi (4). Assists: Anton Lundell, Henri Jokiharju.
- Sakari Manninen (1). Assists: Aatu Raty, Jesse Puljujarvi.
- Patrik Puistola (3). Assists: Lenni Hameenaho, Vili Saarijarvi.
Austria
- Benjamin Nissner (3). Assists: Dominic Zwerger, Peter Schneider.
- Leon Wallner (3). Assists: Ian Scherzer, Leon Kolarik.
Slovakia (1) vs Canada (5) F
Canada looked to keep their perfect record intact on Sunday as they took on a hard-nosed, physical Slovakian team that is coming off a tough loss to their neighbours, Czechia, on Saturday in Fribourg.
As expected coming into this contest, the first period was very tight, with Canada and Slovakia exchanging a handful scoring chances in the early going. Dylan Cozens, who has played unbelievable any time he wears the Maple Leaf, scored his fourth goal of the tournament to give Canada a 1-0 lead late in the first period.
The Slovaks came out hard in the second period, outshooting Canada 12-9 and finally found the back of the net nearly halfway through the game as Kristian Pospisil, who is coming off a solid season with HC Brno Kometa in the Czech Extraliga, put home his third of the World Championship, tying the game up at 1-1. The game would remain tied through 40 minutes, setting up a huge third period for both nations.
In the third period, it was all Canada as Gabe Vilardi restored his nation’s lead a little over two minutes into the final frame, making it 2-1. Canada then exploded for three goals in four minutes and 27 seconds thanks to John Tavares, Ryan O’Reilly and Macklin Celebrini. Jet Greaves had arguably his best game of the tournament in this one, stopping 31 of 32 Slovak shots, as Canada went on to win by a final score of 5 to 1.
Scoring Summary:
Slovakia
- Kristian Pospisil (3). Assists: Luka Radivojevic, Mislav Rosandic.
Canada
- Dylan Cozens (4). Assists: Sidney Crosby, Macklin Celebrini.
- Gabe Vilardi (3). Assists: John Tavares, Robert Thomas.
- John Tavares (2). Assists: Ryan O’Reilly, Morgan Rielly.
- Ryan O’Reilly (5). Assist: Evan Bouchard.
- Macklin Celebrini (3). Assists: Gabe Vilardi, Mark Scheifele.
Standings
- X – qualified for playoff round.
- E – eliminated from playoff contention.
- R – relegated.
Group A
| Nation | GP | W | OT/SOW | OT/SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland - X | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 7 | +32 | 21 |
| Finland - X | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 11 | +20 | 18 |
| Latvia - X | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 12 |
| United States - X | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 11 |
| Germany - E | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 10 |
| Austria - E | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 29 | -12 | 9 |
| Hungary - E | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 38 | -24 | 3 |
| Great Britain - R | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 35 | -28 | 0 |
Group B
| Nation | GP | W | OT/SOW | OT/SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada - X | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 13 | +20 | 20 |
| Norway - X | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 15 |
| Czechia - X | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 13 |
| Sweden - X | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 12 |
| Slovakia - E | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 11 |
| Denmark - E | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 26 | -11 | 6 |
| Slovenia - E | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 25 | -12 | 6 |
| Italy - R | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 28 | -23 | 1 |
My 3 Stars of Day 10
- Eduards Tralmaks (Latvia) – 1 goal, 2 assists vs Great Britain.
- Jet Greaves (Canada) – 31 saves on 32 shots vs Slovakia.
- Jesse Puljujarvi – 1 goal, 1 assists vs Austria.
Day 11 Schedule (Monday, May 25th)
- United States vs Hungary (10:20 am ET)
- Czechia vs Norway (10:20 am ET)
- Germany vs Great Britain (2:20 pm ET)
- Slovenia vs Italy (2:20 pm ET)
(Image Source: Yle.fi)