Men’s World Championship Recap: Canada stunned by Norway in Day 11 upset, Hungary relegated

In what looked to be a quiet day of action, we instead saw the biggest upset of the men’s World Hockey Championship.

Fans in Riga were stunned to watch Norway lead for most of the game against Canada, even taking a 2-0 lead at one point. Canada fought back to force overtime, but it was the shootout that proved to be valuable for Norway, who beat the Canadians for just the second time in tournament history. It was a total shock, with Canada hoping to get a jump on second place in Group B with a win. Instead, Norway gave themselves a chance to finish sixth in the group.

Elsewhere in the morning, Sweden skated to a 4-1 win over Denmark – but not before originally trailing. In the afternoon, Kazakhstan needed a come-from-behind effort to overtake Slovenia, with the Slovenians being the only team in the tournament to leave without a point.

To close things out, Austria and Hungary needed a shootout to see which team would join Slovenia in Division IA next year. In the end, Austria managed to win in overtime, getting the extra point needed to send Hungary down for 2024.

So, there’s just one day left in round-robin play. The winner of Canada vs. Czechia will grab the second spot in Group B, while the winner of Sweden vs. USA will take top spot in Group A. Germany can clinch a spot with a regulation win over France, while Denmark needs three points against Finland to move on. Slovakia currently sits behind Latvia in Group B, but they have a more favorable matchup in Norway as opposed to Latvia’s opponent, Switzerland. If they tie, Slovakia will advance due to winning the head-to-head match last week.

Here’s how the standings looks with one day left in the round-robin:

Group A:

USA, 18P
Sweden, 17P
Finland, 13P
Germany, 9P
Denmark, 8P
France, 4P
Austria, 3P
Hungary, 2P (relegated)

Group B:

Switzerland, 18P
Czechia, 13P
Canada 12P
Latvia, 11P
Slovakia, 8P
Kazakhstan, 7P
Norway, 6P
Slovenia, 0P (relegated)

Norway pulls off shocking upset over Canada

First and foremost, Norway’s entire blueline deserves credit for their work today. Canada outshot them, but they did an excellent job of forcing Canada’s attack to the outside. They made Canada generate chances from the blueline quite often, and put three guys near the net to help clear away breakaways. In the end, it worked.
What a game for Jonas Arntzen, who made an impressive 31 stops. Between this, and his effort against Switzerland earlier on, all he’s had to face is quality competition and has given Norway more than they could ask for. That’s his first World Championship win, by the way.
Sondre Olden picked a hell of a time to score his first goal. He scored Norway’s second of the game and added another in the shootout, helping to wake him up in what’s been a quiet tournament for the forward.
With Canada needing something, anything to get going, Lawson Crouse (ARI) scored the tying goal for the Canadians with 11 seconds left. He led the way with six shots, including four in the final few minutes. It was fitting that he scored, but it wasn’t enough in the end.
Tyler Toffoli (CGY) didn’t score, but he was arguably Canada’s best player. He had five shots and was a big play driver on a team missing some talent in Joe Veleno’s absence.

Sweden beats Denmark, prepare for big match with USA

Sweden’s top line today was Carl Grundstrom (LAK), Andre Petersson and Par Lindholm, who combined for four points. Petersson always looked engaged around the net and led the group with five shots. It was especially good for Grundstrom, who had just one assist in his first five games in a quiet tournament for him again.
Oscar Lindberg, the king of being in the right spot at the right time. He had a pair of assists, but it was his ability to create havoc around the net that made him so valuable once again. He’s been great.
Red Wings fans are going to love watching Lucas Raymond (DET) and Jonatan Berggren (DET) for a very long time. They’ve done some great work on the top line, combining for the 3-1 goal late in the game. Raymond’s shot has been a treat to watch.
It hasn’t been an easy tournament for the Danish goaltenders, but George Sorensen did everything he could in a 30-save effort. The shots were 11-2 in the first period, and it was Sorensen’s great play early that kept things close. Eventually, it fell apart, but not much more he could have done.

Kazakhstan comes from behind to beat Slovenia

He would have loved to score more often earlier in the tournament, but Anze Kuralt can be happy with his two-goal performance. The 31-year-old veteran scored just once against Latvia tihs year, so this felt more like what we’re used to seeing from him internationally.
Zan Us was Slovenia’s third goalie, so with the pressure off, this made sense for his World Championship debut. He was excellent, especially in the third period when Kazakhstan was trying their butts to try and tie the game up. They lost in the end, but there wasn’t much he could have done.
Nikita Mikhalis is one NHL teams have kept a close eye on over the years. They didn’t get to see him do much in the goal department, but his perfectly placed wrister on the power play to make it 1-1 was impressive. Mikhalis then set up the game-winner in a big third period for Kazakhstan’s top line. He’s 27 and hasn’t announced a deal yet for next season, for what it’s worth.

Hungary relegated after shootout loss to Austria

Istvan Sofron has been very involved in all situations for Hungary, and he scored twice in the first period. His tip on the 2-1 power-play goal was impressive, in particular. Without him, Austria, who outplayed Hungary, would have pulled this off in regulation.
Marco Rossi (MIN) is the only NHLer between the two teams, and his goal in the first was definitely a highlight. He went end-to-end for the goal, which was aided by the Hungarian defense seemingly parting from the middle to let the Minnesota Wild prospect have free reign. Still, he was probably the only player who could have done that.
Peter Schneider didn’t nab a point today, but, like always, he was involved around the crease and had a few close chances. You always expect big things from a player like him in a situation like this.

2023 NHL Draft Watch

Adam Fantilli (CAN) was ejected from the game in the second period after a hit on Christian Kaasastul resulted in some head contact. That wouldn’t have been an ejection in the NHL, but the IIHF takes head contact seriously. With Canada already down a man, that was a tough one.
David Reinbacher (AUT) recorded his first point of the tournament, and it was a big one. He helped start the play that made it 3-3 for Austria on the power play late in the second, while also making some nice blocks in his own zone. That was a nice showing for one of the top defenders for the draft.
It was another quiet game for Leo Carlsson (SWE), who had two shots but no points to show for it. He played 15:15 tonight, a slight dip from his 15:54 against France.