Slovenia stuns Czechia in a thrilling upset while Canada dominates Italy. Explore the action from Switzerland as Finland stays perfect and the hosts secure a vital victory.
The 2026 IIHF World Championship is already starting to feel like one of those tournaments where every day brings something completely different. Day 2 had a bit of everything across Zurich and Fribourg, including a massive upset, a dominant Canadian performance, and Finland continuing to quietly look like one of the most complete teams in the field.
Here’s how all the action unfolded on Day 2 in Switzerland.
Group A (Zurich)
Austria 5, Great Britain 2
- Austria Goals: Peter Schneider (2), Benjamin Baumgartner, Dominic Zwerger, Thomas Raffl
- Great Britain Goals: David Clements, Liam Kirk
- Goalie Matchup: David Kickert (WIN) vs. Mat Robson (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Great Britain actually gave Austria a bit of a scare early after scoring twice in just 37 seconds during the opening period. From there, though, Austria completely settled the game down and took over. Schneider led the offence with two goals, while the Austrian defensive structure gave Britain almost nothing to work with in the second period.
Finland 4, Hungary 1
- Finland Goals: Oliver Kapanen, Juha Jaaska, Jesse Puljujärvi, Iiro Pakarinen
- Hungary Goals: Balazs Sebok
- Goalie Matchup: Emil Larmi (WIN) vs. Bence Balizs (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Finland improved to 2-0 with another pretty controlled performance. Aleksander Barkov picked up a pair of primary assists and helped drive the pace offensively, while the Finns once again did a strong job limiting quality chances against. Puljujarvi also continued a nice start to the tournament with another goal.
Switzerland 4, Latvia 1
- Switzerland Goals: Damien Riat (2), Nico Hischier, Sven Andrighetto
- Latvia Goals: Miks Indrasis
- Goalie Matchup: Akira Schmid (WIN) vs. Kristers Gudlevskis (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Switzerland kept rolling in front of the home crowd and now sits tied with Finland atop Group A with six points. Latvia cut the lead to one during the second period, but the Swiss pushed back quickly and never really let the game get close again. Riat scored twice in the win, while Schmid looked calm between the pipes.
Group B (Fribourg)
Slovakia 2, Norway 1
- Slovakia Goals: Martin Pospisil, Marek Hrivik
- Norway Goals: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
- Goalie Matchup: Samuel Hlavaj (WIN) vs. Henrik Haukeland (LOSS)
- Game Notes: This was one of the tighter games of the day and had a pretty physical edge to it throughout. Hrivik scored the game-winner midway through the third period, while Brandsegg-Nygard continued boosting his draft stock with Norway’s lone goal on a really nice release from the circle.
Canada 6, Italy 0
- Canada Goals: Macklin Celebrini (2), Dylan Holloway, Fraser Minten, Evan Bouchard, Ryan O'Reilly
- Italy Goals: None
- Goalie Matchup: Cam Talbot (WIN) vs. Davide Fadani (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Canada controlled this game pretty much from the opening puck drop. Holloway and Minten scored 47 seconds apart in the first period, and the game was never really in doubt after that. Celebrini had a huge performance with three points, while Talbot turned aside all 19 shots he faced for the shutout.
Slovenia 3, Czechia 2 (OT)
- Slovenia Goals: Robert Sabolic, Anze Kuralt, Marcel Mahkovec
- Czechia Goals: Martin Kaut, Lukas Sedlak
- Goalie Matchup: Lukas Horak (WIN) vs. Petr Mrazek (LOSS)
- Game Notes: Easily the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Mahkovec scored on a breakaway early in overtime to give Slovenia its first-ever World Championship win over Czechia. Horak was outstanding in goal, stopping 32 shots and frustrating the defending champions for most of the night.