The preliminary round is officially over at the 2026 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Switzerland, and the quarterfinal matchups are now set. After the final day of group play wrapped up Tuesday, the remaining eight teams locked in for a win-or-go-home Thursday. Switzerland grabbed the top spot in Group A with a late win over Finland, while Canada finished first in Group B after edging Czechia. The biggest matchup of the round is easily Canada versus the United States, with the longtime rivals meeting in Fribourg. Here is the full quarterfinal schedule for Thursday, May 28. THURSDAY, MAY 28 Finland vs. Czechia * Time: 10:20 a.m. ET (16:20 local) * Venue: Swiss Life Arena (Zurich) Canada vs. USA * Time: 10:20 a.m. ET (16:20 local) * Venue: BCF Arena (Fribourg) Switzerland vs. Sweden * Time: 4:20 p.m. ET (20:20 local) * Venue: Swiss Life Arena (Zurich) Norway vs. Latvia * Time: 4:20 p.m. ET (20:20 local) * Venue: BCF Arena (Fribourg) The four remaining teams will move on to the semifinals on Saturday before the tournament wraps up with the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday. From that point on, every remaining game will be played in Zurich. 2026 IIHF World Hockey Championship Standings Group A 1. Switzerland (21 points) - moving on 2. Finland (18 points) - moving on 3. Latvia (12 points) - moving on 4. United States (11 points) - moving on 5. Germany (10 points) - eliminated 6. Austria (9 points) - eliminated 7. Hungary (3 points) - eliminated 8. Great Britain (0 points) - relegated Group B 1. Canada (20 points) - moving on 2. Norway (15 points) - moving on 3. Czechia (13 points) - moving on 4. Sweden (12 points) - moving on 5. Slovakia (11 points) - eliminated 6. Denmark (6 points) - eliminated 7. Slovenia (6 points) - eliminated 8. Italy (1 point) - relegated Stay updated with the most interesting International Hockey stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwm-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and never miss a story. Let us know what you think below. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
