We’re officially halfway through the preliminary round at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, with nations beginning to feel themselves out and see where they could finish ahead of the playoff round, which gets underway in exactly one week.
Day 7 at the 2026 IIHF World Championship saw a pair of undefeated teams in the early games as 3-0-0-0 Finland took on a Latvia team that needs to pick up a win to have a chance at making it to the quarterfinals, while 3-0-0-0 Canada is facing a Norwegian squad that’s coming off of back-to-back shutouts.
In the late games on Day 7, Great Britain looked to pick up their first win of the tournament against the hosts, Switzerland, who have been dominant thus far, including a 9-0 drubbing of Austria on Wednesday. Meanwhile in Group B, Denmark, who has also yet to win in the tournament after finishing fourth last year, are facing an undefeated Slovakian team looking to improve on their 11th place finish in 2025.
Latvia (1) vs Finland (7) F
Latvia has had a tough tournament thus far, coming into action on Thursday with just one win in three games. After missing out on the playoff round last year, Latvia knew that a win today would be a big help in their chances of making it past the preliminary round. Meanwhile for Finland, they were looking for their fourth regulation win of the tournament.
The scoring got started very early in this one as Rudolfs Balcers picked up his fifth goal of the 2026 IIHF World Championship ten seconds into the first period, giving Latvia a 1-0 lead. Finland would counter five minutes later as Hannes Bjorninen scored his first of the tournament to tie the game up at 1-1. Five minutes later, Boston Bruins defenseman Henri Jokiharju gave the Finns their first lead of the. Flash forward another five minutes and Finland extended their lead to 3-1 thanks to Saku Maenalanen’s second of the tournament.
Finland would continue to pour it on in the final 40 minutes, with Waltteri Merela making it 4-1 for his nation less than nine minutes into the middle frame. In the third period, Anton Lundell scored his third of the 2026 IIHF World Championship, with an assist going to Mikael Granlund, who was making his tournament debut after being added to Finland’s roster last weekend. Patrik Puistola and Aatu Raty would also find the back of the net in the third period, propelling Finland to a 7-1 victory.
Scoring Summary:
Latvia
- Rudolfs Balcers (5). Assist: Sandis Vilmanis.
Finland
- Hannes Bjorninen (1). Assists: Henri Jokiharju, Waltteri Merela.
- Henri Jokiharju (1). Assists: Patrik Puistola, Mikko Lehtonen.
- Saku Maenalanen (2). Assist: Hannes Bjorninen.
- Waltteri Merela (1). Assists: Saku Maenalanen, Hannes Bjorninen.
- Anton Lundell (3). Assists: Mikael Granlund, Aleksander Barkov.
- Patrik Puistola (2). Assists: Mikko Lehtonen, Janne Kuokkanen.
- Aatu Raty (3). Assists: Lenni Hameenaho, Mikko Lehtonen.
Canada (6) vs Norway (5) F/OT
Canada was looking to remain undefeated on Thursday as they face off against Norway, who have played quite well to start the tournament, registering back-to-back shutouts entering action on Thursday, as mentioned. Henrik Haukeland, who picked up both of those shutouts for his nation, served as the backup in this one as Tobias Normann got the start.
A little over five minutes into the first period, Norway shocked everyone by opening the scoring, as Eskild Bakke Olsen made it 1-0. Norway would add another a little over six minutes later courtesy of Johannes Johannesen, making it 2-0. Less than two minutes later, Canada finally got on the board as Mark Scheifele scored his first of the tournament, cutting Norway’s lead to just one. Approaching the final two minutes of the period, Mark Scheifele doubled down, firing a one-timer past Normann to tie the game up at 2-2.
Norway would regain their lead early in the second period as Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Noah Steen scored his second of the tournament. The Norwegians would hold onto that lead for the first half of the middle frame before Gabe Vilardi struck for Canada, knotting things up at 3-3, which is where things stood after 40 minutes of play.
In the third period, Canada would take their first lead of the night on a great individual effort from Dylan Cozens on the penalty kill, making it 4-3. Canada’s lead lasted about eight minutes before Norway’s Noah Steen scored his second of the night, tying the game up at 4-4. The back-and-forth scoring would continue as Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Tinus Luc Koblar would give Norway the lead less than two minutes later. Norway came within one minute and 39 seconds of an upset win over Canada in regulation, but veteran forward Ryan O’Reilly said not so fast. The Nashville Predators forward tipped home Macklin Celebrini’s shot to tie the game at 5-5, forcing overtime.
It didn’t take too long for this game to finish in the extra frame as a Mark Scheifele put it home on a slick passing play from Macklin Celebrini & Evan Bouchard, recording the hat trick and giving Canada their fourth win in as many games.
Scoring Summary:
Canada
- Mark Scheifele (1).
- Mark Scheifele (2). Assists: Parker Wotherspoon, Gabe Vilardi.
- Gabe Vilardi (2). Assists: Mark Scheifele, Evan Bouchard.
- Dylan Cozens (2). Assists: Darnell Nurse.
- Ryan O’Reilly (4). Assists: Macklin Celebrini, Evan Bouchard.
- Mark Scheifele (3). Assists: Evan Bouchard, Macklin Celebrini.
Norway
- Eskild Bakke Olsen (2). Assists: Petter Vesterheim, Patrick Elvsveen.
- Johannes Johannesen (1). Assists: Andreas Martinsen, Tinus Luc Koblar.
- Noah Steen (2). Assists: Petter Vesterheim, Johannes Johannesen.
- Christian Kaasastul (2). Assist: Noah Steen.
- Tinus Luc Koblar (3). Assists: Emilio Petterssen, Johannes Johannesen.
Switzerland (4) vs Great Britain (1) F
One day after their 9-0 win over Austria, Switzerland was back in action in front of their fans at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich as they took on a winless Great Britain group that facing the possibility of relegation if they’re unable to pick up at least a regulation win in their final four games of the tournament.
The hosts would strike first a little over five minutes into the first period as Nino Niederreiter found the back of the net for his first of the tournament, making it 1-0 Switzerland. Despite being down 1-0 after 20 minutes, it was a solid effort from Great Britain in the opening frame with a couple of scoring chances and some great saves from netminder Mat Robson, who turned aside 17 of 18 shots faced in the period.
Switzerland added to their lead in the second period as New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier picked up his fourth of the tournament one minute into the middle frame to make it 2-0. Eight minutes later, Simon Knak, who is coming off a Spengler Cup championship with HC Davos back in September, scored his first of the 2026 IIHF World Championship, making it 3-0 Switzerland. After being shut out in their last game against Hungary, Great Britain got on the board in this one as Josh Waller scored, cutting Switzerland’s lead to two through 40 minutes.
Less than three minutes into the third period, Nino Niederreiter scored again, his second of the night, to make it a 4-1 Swiss lead. Great Britain tried their hardest to push for another goal in this one, but came up short as Switzerland would take this one by a score of 4-1 to improve to 5-0-0-0.
Scoring Summary:
Switzerland
- Nino Niederreiter (1). Assists: Roman Josi, Dominik Egli.
- Nico Hischier (4).
- Simon Knak (1). Assist: Damien Riat.
- Nino Niederreiter (2). Assists: Timo Meier, Nico Hischier.
Great Britain
- Josh Waller (1). Assists: Liam Kirk, Mark Richardson.
Denmark (1) vs Slovakia (5) F
The final game of the day in Group B saw an undefeated Slovakia take on a winless Danish team, who have struggled mightily in this tournament, 12 months after upsetting Canada in the quarterfinals and achieving their highest ever finish at the IIHF World Championship.
Slovakia opened the scoring in this one near the halfway point of the first period as Los Angeles Kings prospect Martin Chromiak scored his second of the tournament. The Slovaks would hold onto that 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, with Minnesota Wild prospect Samuel Hlavaj stopping all seven shots he faced from the Danes.
Early on in the second period, Slovakia would extend their lead to 2-0 as Adam Liska picked up his second of the tournament 56 seconds into the middle frame. Slovakia wasn’t done there as Oliver Okuliar, who had assists on both of his nation’s first two goals of the game, scored less than six minutes after Liska, giving them a 3-0 lead heading to the third period.
Less than two minutes into the third period, Denmark would end Samuel Hlavaj’s shutout bid as former Niagara IceDogs & Sudbury Wolves forward Mikkel Aagard found the back to the net for the third time in the tournament, cutting Slovakia’s lead to two. Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil would regain Slovakia’s three-goal lead a couple minutes later, before Sebastian Cederle finished things off 13 minutes into the final frame as the Slovaks would hold on for their fourth win in four games, this one by a score of 5 to 1.
Scoring Summary:
Denmark
- Mikkel Aagaard (3). Assists: Patrick Russell, Jesper Jensen Aabo
Slovakia
- Martin Chromiak (2). Assists: Kristian Pospisil, Oliver Okuliar.
- Adam Liska (2). Assists: Oliver Okuliar, Marek Hrvik.
- Oliver Okuliar (2). Assists: Marek Hrvik, Adam Liska.
- Martin Pospisil (1). Assists: Viliam Kmec, Samuel Knazko.
- Sebastian Cederle (1). Assist: Martin Chromiak.
Standings
Group A
| Nation | GP | W | OT/SOW | OT/SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 5 | +21 | 15 |
| Finland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 | +15 | 12 |
| 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 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 3 |
| Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 1 |
| Great Britain | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 19 | -15 | 0 |
Group B
| Nation | GP | W | OT/SOW | OT/SOL | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 11 |
| Slovakia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 11 |
| Czechia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 10 |
| Norway | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 7 |
| Sweden | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 6 |
| Slovenia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 17 | -10 | 3 |
| Denmark | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 20 | -15 | 0 |
| Italy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 17 | -15 | 0 |
My 3 Stars of Day 7
- Mark Scheifele (Canada) – 3 goals, 1 assist vs Norway.
- Hannes Bjorninen (Finland) – 1 goal, 2 assists vs Latvia.
- Oliver Okuliar (Slovakia) – 1 goal, 2 assists vs Denmark.
Day 8 Schedule (Friday, May 22nd)
- Germany vs Hungary (10:20 am ET)
- Canada vs Slovenia (10:20 am ET)
- Finland vs Great Britain (2:20 pm ET)
- Sweden vs Italy (2:20 pm ET)
(Image Source: Anthony Anex – Keystone)