Finland dominates the Americans, and the Swiss hosts cruise to victory as the preliminary round standings take shape following a high-scoring Monday across Zurich and Fribourg.
The preliminary round is starting to take shape now, and you can kind of feel the separation happening between the top teams and everyone else. Day 4 in Switzerland had a bit of everything: offensive outbursts, a couple of statement wins, and one or two results that probably raised some eyebrows.
Here’s how Monday unfolded across Zurich and Fribourg.
Group A (Zurich)
Finland 6, United States 2
- Finland Goals: Lenni Hameenaho (2), Patrik Puistola, Aatu Raty, Anton Lundell (Plus one additional)
- United States Goals: Matt Coronato, Ryan Leonard
- Goalie Matchup: Emil Larmi (WIN) vs. Joseph Woll (LOSS)
Game Notes: Finland didn’t just beat the United States here, they controlled it for long stretches and made life pretty uncomfortable in front of the net. Hameenaho led the way with a strong night offensively, but it was the overall structure that stood out again for Finland. The Americans just never really found any rhythm, and once it started to tilt, it snowballed.
Switzerland 6, Germany 1
- Switzerland Goals: Sven Andrighetto (2), Denis Malgin, Christoph Bertschy, Nico Hischier, Roman Josi
- Germany Goals: Frederik Tiffels
- Goalie Matchup: Akira Schmid (WIN) vs. Mathias Niederberger (LOSS)
Game Notes: This one was tight for a while, at least on the scoreboard, before Switzerland basically took over the second period. Malgin’s shorthanded goal felt like the turning point, and after that it turned into one-way traffic. The hosts are now sitting right where they want to be, tied at the top of Group A and looking pretty comfortable doing it.
Group B (Fribourg)
Canada 5, Denmark 1
- Canada Goals: Porter Martone, Gabriel Vilardi, Denton Mateychuk, Ryan O'Reilly, Parker Wotherspoon
- Denmark Goals: Nick Olesen
- Goalie Matchup: Jet Greaves (WIN) vs. Nicolaj Henriksen (LOSS)
Game Notes: This had all the signs of a game that might get frustrating for Canada for a while. Denmark’s goaltender was outstanding early and basically held them in it on his own. Once Canada finally broke through in the third, though, it opened up quickly. Martone scoring almost immediately out of the gate kind of set the tone for the rest of the period, and suddenly it wasn’t close anymore.
Czechia 4, Sweden 3
- Czechia Goals: Matej Blumel, Dominik Kubalik, Jakub Flek, Jiri Cernoch
- Sweden Goals: Joel Persson, Simon Holmstrom, Oliver Ekman-Larsson
- Goalie Matchup: Josef Korenar (WIN) vs. Sweden
Game Notes: This was probably the most entertaining game of the day. Czechia came out flying and built a 3-0 lead early, then had to hang on as Sweden slowly clawed their way back into it with a few power-play goals. It felt like it might flip completely at one point, but Czechia found just enough pushback to close it out and avoid another late collapse.