Switzerland stunned the United States on home ice while Canada outlasted Sweden in a high-scoring thriller as the world’s top hockey nations ignited the ice in Zurich and Fribourg.
The 2026 IIHF World Championship officially opened yesterday in Switzerland, and Day 1 brought a pretty strong start to the tournament. Between Canada and Sweden going back and forth, Switzerland upsetting the United States, and Finland locking things down defensively, there was a bit of everything right away.
Here’s a full look at the opening day results from Zurich and Fribourg.
Group A (Zurich)Finland 3, Germany 1
- Finland Goals: Jesse Puljujarvi, Aatu Räty, Anton Lundell
- Germany Goals: Stefan Loibl
- Goalie Matchup: Harri Sateri (WIN) vs. Philipp Grubauer (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Finland settled into the game quickly after a tighter opening period and controlled most of the pace from there. Raty scored his first career World Championship goal, while Lundell added insurance late. Germany stayed within reach thanks to Grubauer, but the Finns didn’t give up much once they grabbed the lead.
Switzerland 3, United States 1
- Switzerland Goals: Pius Suter, Ken Jager, Sven Andrighetto
- United States Goals: Alex Steeves
- Goalie Matchup: Leonardo Genoni (WIN) vs. Joey Daccord (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Switzerland picked up arguably the biggest win of opening day by knocking off the defending champions. Suter opened the scoring early, and Genoni turned aside 19 of 20 shots in a strong performance between the pipes. The Americans struggled to generate much sustained pressure offensively as the Swiss controlled the pace late.
Group B (Fribourg)
Canada 5, Sweden 3
- Canada Goals: John Tavares, Ryan O'Reilly, Dylan Holloway, Connor Brown, Dylan Cozens
- Sweden Goals: Jacob Larsson, Lucas Raymond, Mattias Ekholm
- Goalie Matchup: Jet Greaves (WIN) vs. Samuel Ersson (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Canada and Sweden delivered the most entertaining game of the day. Canada jumped ahead early before Sweden stormed back to tie things up in the second period. Brown and Cozens scored in the third to help Canada pull away late, while Porter Martone quietly picked up two assists in the win.
Czechia 4, Denmark 1
- Czechia Goals: Dominik Kubalik, Daniel Vozenilek, Roman Červenka, David Kampf
- Denmark Goals: Mikkel Aagaard
- Goalie Matchup: Karel Vejmelka (WIN) vs. Mads Sogaard (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Czechia handled things pretty comfortably from start to finish. Kubalik and Vozenilek helped build an early lead, and Denmark spent most of the night trying to defend waves of pressure. Sogaard faced a heavy workload throughout the game, while Cervenka continued to produce offensively on the international stage.