Day 5 of the 2026 IIHF World Championship was an important one for several nations that were looking for their first wins of the tournament. Three of the six nations coming into action on Tuesday were winless – Great Britain, Hungary and Italy.
The first game of the day in Group A saw Austria, who is having a great tournament so far after winning their first two games, take on Latvia, while over in Group B, Norway looked to win their second game at the 2026 IIHF World Championship after shutting out Slovenia 4-0 on Sunday. Standing in their way of a 2-0-0-1 – Italy, who have had a rough start to the tournament, losing both of their first two games and have been outscored 10-1.
Meanwhile in the second games of Day 5, Hungary and Great Britain clashed in a very important game in Group A. Both teams entered Tuesday 0-0-0-2 and the winner of this one has a good chance of avoiding relegation to Division 1A for 2027. In Group B, Slovenia, who provided us with the upset of the tournament (so far) on Saturday against Czechia, was taking on Martin Pospisil and Slovakia in Fribourg.
Latvia (1) vs Austria (3) F
Austria has had a solid showing at the 2026 IIHF World Championship as coming into Tuesday, Roger Bader’s group were 2-0-0-0 following wins over Great Britain and Hungary. With a win on Tuesday against Latvia, Austria would move into a tie with Switzerland and Finland on nine points through three games.
It took until nearly halfway through the game for the deadlock to be broken as Tim Harnisch made it 1-0 for Austria a tad over seven minutes into the second period. Austria would hold onto that lead heading into the third period, but Latvia bounced back in the final frame.
Rudolfs Balcers, who has had a great tournament thus far, picked up his fourth of the 2026 IIHF World Championship 25 seconds into the third period, tying the game up at 1-1. The game wouldn’t remain tied for too long as Benjamin Nissner scored his second of the tournament to regain Austria’s one-goal lead. It appears that this game was going to end 2-1 but with two seconds remaining in the contest, Montreal Canadiens prospect Vinzenz Rohrer put home an empty netter, as Austria picked up their third win of the tournament and remain undefeated after five days.
Scoring Summary:
Latvia
- Rudolfs Balcers (4). Assists: Deniss Smirnovs, Alberts Smits.
Austria
- Tim Harnisch (1). Assist: Paul Stapelfeldt.
- Benjamin Nissner (2). Assists: Peter Schneider, Vinzenz Rohrer.
- Vinzenz Rohrer (2). Assists: Thimo Nickl.
Italy (0) vs Norway (4) F
Being in a group that featured Canada, Sweden and Czechia is never easy for a nation like Italy and if you want to remain in the top division next year, you need to pick up points where you can. After a 6-0 loss to Canada on Saturday and 4-1 loss to Slovakia on Monday, the Italians turned their attention to Norway, a nation that’s had a rough go at this tournament over the last 12 years as they haven’t made the playoff round since 2012.
Italy put up a good fight in this one, but it was Norway who would strike first a little over halfway through the opening period as Eskild Bakke Olsen scored his first goal of the tournament to make it 1-0. Ten minutes into the second period, Norway doubled their lead as Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Noah Steen put his nation up 2-0. A little over seven minutes later, they would add another as Christian Kaasastul scored his first career goal at the IIHF World Championship in his 36th game as Norway took a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes.
About five and a half minutes into the third period, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Tinus Luc Koblar picked up his second of the 2026 IIHF World Championship to make it 4-0 for Norway and that’s where this one would finish. Norwegian netminder Henrik Haukeland has been outstanding so far, stopping the last 41 shots he’s faced (11 vs Slovenia & 30 vs Italy) to record back-to-back shutouts and is making an early bid for Goaltender of the Tournament.
Scoring Summary:
Norway
- Eskild Bakke Olsen (1). Assists: Max Krogdahl, Mikkel Oby-Olsen.
- Noah Steen (1). Assists: Havard Ostrem Salsten.
- Christian Kaasastul (1). Assists: Mikkel Oby-Olsen, Max Krogdahl.
- Tinus Luc Koblar (2). Assists: Andreas Martinsen, Emilio Petterssen.
Hungary (5) vs Great Britain (0) F
Tuesday’s clash between Hungary and Great Britain was arguably the most important game of Day 5 at the 2026 IIHF World Championship. The winner of today’s game would have a good shot at remaining in the top division in 2027, while the loser is likely staring down relegation and a trip to Division 1A next spring.
Early in the first period, Hungary got on the board. 31-year-old Krisztian Nagy, who was playing in his first game of the tournament, gave Hungary a 1-0 lead a little over two minutes into the game. The Hungarians would add another in the opening period as 2026 NHL Draft prospect Doman Szongoth scored his first career IIHF World Championship goal, making it 2-0 for his nation.
Hungary would extend their lead to 3-0 in the second period as forward Istvan Terbocs scored his first of two goals on the day. It would remain 3-0 until late in the third period as Terbocs found the back of the net again, before Krisztian Nagy added his second of the night to make it 5-0 Hungary with less than six minutes in the game.
Bence Balizs, who has been part of the men’s national team for 14 years now, made 26 saves for the shutout. He became the first Hungarian goaltender to record a shutout at the top division of the IIHF World Championship since 1937 – a 0-0 draw against Czechoslovakia in London, England.
For Great Britain, their path to remain in the top division next year gets much tougher following Tuesday’s loss. They still have to face Switzerland (May 21st), Finland (May 22nd), Latvia (May 24th) and Germany (May 26th). While Germany, who is also 0-0-0-3, could still lose their remaining four games, they cannot be relegated to Division 1A as they’re set to host the top division next May in Dusseldorf & Mannheim.
Scoring Summary:
Hungary
- Krisztian Nagy (1).
- Doman Szongoth (1). Assists: Milan Horvath, Bence Horvath.
- Istvan Terbocs (1).
- Istvan Terbocs (2). Assists: Bence Horvath, Tamas Ortenszky.
- Krisztian Nagy (2). Assists: Peter Vincze, Tamas Sarpatki.
Slovenia (4) vs Slovakia (5) F/SO
The second and final game of the day in Group B saw Slovenia take on Slovakia and it was a solid contest from start to finish. Slovenia came into the game with one win – an OTW against Czechia – along with a 4-0 loss to Norway, while Slovakia was looking to remain undefeated after starting the tournament with victories over the Norwegians and Italy.
Adam Liska, who set a net career high in goals in the KHL this past season, opened the scoring 1:20 into the first period to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead. Slovenia would bounce back later in the opening frame as Ken Ograjensek tied it up at 1-1 with under five minutes to play. Los Angeles Kings prospect Martin Chromiak would restore Slovakia’s lead before the end of the first as they went to the locker room ahead 2-1 after 20 minutes.
The two nations would go back and forth in the second period as Rok Ticar scored his first goal of the tournament 1:17 in to tie things up at 2-2. A little over four minutes later, Slovakia would take the lead once again as Montreal Canadiens prospect Filip Mesar picked up his first career goal for the senior men’s national team. Slovakia would then get their first and only two-goal lead of the contest just over halfway through the second period thanks to Martin Fasko-Rudas. Slovenia would bring this one within a goal late in the second period as former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Jan Drozg found the back of the net with close to two minutes remaining.
As was the case in their upset win over Czechia on the weekend, Slovenia would tie the game in the third period as 38-year-old Rok Ticar scored the equalizer with 31 seconds left to force overtime. Slovenia had a few good looks in overtime, outshooting Slovakia 3-0, but this game would need a shootout. Slovakia scored three in the shootout, with Filip Mesar finishing things off in the fifth round as they would pick up two points to remain undefeated through three games.
Scoring Summary:
Slovenia
- Ken Ograjensek (1). Assists: Rok Ticar, Jan Cosic.
- Rok Ticar (1). Assists: Aljosa Crnovic, Aleksandar Magovac.
- Jan Drozg (1). Assists: Blaz Gregorc, Robert Sabolic.
- Rok Ticar (2). Assists: Jan Drozg, Blaz Gregorc.
Slovakia
- Adam Liska (1). Assists: Mislav Rosandic, Frantisek Gajdos.
- Martin Chromiak (1). Assists: Sebastian Cederle, Frantisek Gajdos.
- Filip Mesar (1). Assists: Maxim Strbak, Samuel Knazko.
- Martin Fasko-Rudas (1). Assists: Adam Liska, Filip Mesar.
Standings
Group A
| Nation | GP | W | OT/SOW | OT/SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 | +18 | 12 |
| Finland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 9 |
| Austria | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 9 |
| United States | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 5 |
| Hungary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | +/-0 | 3 |
| Latvia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 3 |
| Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 1 |
| Great Britain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 0 |
Group B
| Nation | GP | W | OT/SOW | OT/SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czechia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 10 |
| Canada | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | +12 | 9 |
| Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 8 |
| Sweden | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 6 |
| Norway | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 6 |
| Slovenia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 17 | -10 | 3 |
| Denmark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 0 |
| Italy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 17 | -15 | 0 |
My 3 Stars of Day 5
- Henrik Haukeland (Norway) – 30 save shutout vs Italy.
- Rok Ticar (Slovenia) – 2 goals, 1 assist vs Slovakia.
- Bence Balizs (Hungary) – 26 save shutout vs Great Britain.
Day 6 Schedule (Wednesday, May 20th)
- Austria vs Switzerland (10:20 am ET)
- Czechia vs Italy (10:20 am ET)
- United States vs Germany (2:20 pm ET)
- Sweden vs Slovenia (2:20 pm ET)
(Image Source: IIHF)