The final day of the 2026 IIHF World Championship preliminary round was a high-stakes conclusion, with playoff berths and seeding hanging in the balance across both groups.

Group A

Venue: Swiss Life Arena, Zurich

🇱🇻 Latvia 8 – 1 Hungary 🇭🇺

Latvia dominated from the outset, fueled by a relentless power play to secure an 8–1 victory. The win was critical for the Latvians, confirming their advancement to the quarter-finals and eliminating any lingering doubt regarding their standing in the group.

🇺🇸 United States 4 – 1 Austria 🇦🇹

In a “must-win” scenario to clinch a playoff spot, the United States responded with a disciplined 4–1 win over Austria. Goaltender Devin Cooley was instrumental, turning aside 25 of 26 shots, while Matthew Tkachuk and his teammates provided the necessary offensive support to book a quarter-final date with Canada.

🇨🇭 Switzerland 4 – 2 Finland 🇫🇮

In a battle for the top spot in Group A, tournament hosts Switzerland edged out Finland 4–2. Despite a strong effort from the Finns, two late third-period goals from the Swiss offense clinched first place in the group, ensuring they would finish the preliminary round with a perfect record

Group B

Venue: BCF Arena, Fribourg

🇸🇪 Sweden 4 – 2 Slovakia 🇸🇰

Sweden secured their quarter-final berth by defeating Slovakia 4–2 in a high-stakes morning tilt. Despite an early lead by the Slovaks via Martin Chromiak, Sweden surged back with goals from Ivar Stenberg, Jakob Silfverberg, Anton Frondell, and an empty-netter from Oliver Ekman-Larsson to send Slovakia home.

🇨🇦 Canada 3 – 2 Czechia 🇨🇿

Canada concluded their preliminary round undefeated by rallying from an early 2–0 deficit to defeat Czechia 3–2. Macklin Celebrini tallied twice to spark the comeback, and John Tavares scored the game-winner midway through the third period, confirming Canada’s position as the top seed in Group B

🇳🇴 Norway 4 – 3 Denmark 🇩🇰

In a thrilling conclusion to their tournament campaigns, Norway secured a hard-fought 4–3 victory over Denmark in overtime. The back-and-forth contest saw both teams trade momentum throughout regulation, but it was Michael Brandsegg-Nygard who ultimately played the hero, scoring the decisive overtime winner to secure the points for Norway.

Quarter-Final Matchups (Thursday, May 28)

  • 🇨🇦 Canada vs. 🇺🇸 United States

  • 🇸🇪 Sweden vs. 🇨🇭 Switzerland

  • 🇫🇮 Finland vs. 🇨🇿 Czechia

  • 🇱🇻 Latvia vs. 🇳🇴 Norway