Finland remains perfect while Canada’s depth crushes Slovakia. Meanwhile, Latvia secures a dominant shutout to trigger Great Britain’s relegation as Denmark survives a gritty overtime thriller against Italy.
Day 10 of the 2026 IIHF World Hockey Championship had a bit of everything, here is a total recap of the games that were played.
Group A (Zurich)
Finland 5, Austria 2
Finland Goals: Mikael Granlund, Saku Maenalanen, Sakari Manninen, Patrik Puistola, Jesse Puljujärvi
Austria Goals: Benjamin Nissner, Leon Wallner
Goalie Matchup: Harri Sateri (WIN) vs. David Kickert (LOSS)
Game Notes: Finland stays perfect with another controlled win, using a balanced attack with five different goal scorers. The game opened up in the second period when they started to wear Austria down. Jesse Puljujarvi added a goal and an assist and continues to be one of their more consistent pieces.
Latvia 6, Great Britain 0
Latvia Goals: Eduards Tralmaks, Rudolfs Balcers, Martins Dzierkals, Deniss Smirnovs, Haralds Egle, Kristians Rubins
Great Britain Goals: None
Goalie Matchup: Kristers Gudlevskis (WIN) vs. Ben Bowns (LOSS)
Game Notes: Latvia controlled this one from the opening shift and never really gave Great Britain a chance to settle in. Tralmaks had a strong debut with three points, and Balcers continued his scoring touch with another goal. Great Britain struggled to generate anything and will be relegated in 2027.
Group B (Fribourg)
Canada 5, Slovakia 1
Canada Goals: Dylan Cozens, Gabriel Vilardi, John Tavares, Ryan O'Reilly, Macklin Celebrini
Slovakia Goals: Kristian Pospisil
Goalie Matchup: Jet Greaves (WIN) vs. Samuel Hlavaj (LOSS)
Game Notes: Slovakia kept it close through two periods before Canada took over late. Vilardi broke the tie on the power play, and the game opened up quickly after that with four unanswered goals. Canada’s depth showed once things stretched out.
Denmark 3, Italy 2 (OT)
Denmark Goals: Christian Wejse, Mikkel Aagaard, Patrick Russell
Italy Goals: Tommaso Purdeller (2)
Goalie Matchup: Frederik Andersen (WIN) vs. Davide Fadani (LOSS)
Game Notes: Denmark started fast but had to survive a pushback from Italy, led by a strong performance from Purdeller. The game stayed tight into overtime before Russell finished it to secure the extra point.
