Switzerland, Finland advance to 2026 IIHF World Championship gold medal game
Switzerland and Finland are set to meet in Sunday’s gold medal game at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
Puck drop is set for 2:20 PM ET.
Switzerland has played in the gold medal game four times since 2013, but has failed to reach the top step of the podium. This will mark Switzerland’s third straight year in the gold medal game, having lost in overtime to the United States a year ago.
Finland, meanwhile, will look to win gold for the first time since 2022. The Finns have won four golds and nine silvers in team history.
Christoph Bertschy gave the hometown fans a reason to celebrate in the first period. After some good back-and-forth action, Bertschy would beat Norwegian goaltender Henrik Haukeland with a great wrister to make it 1-0. Everything fell apart in the third period for Norway, however, with Denis Malgin, Ken Jager and Damien Riat all registering goals. Norway started the third period with some good chances, but Nico Hischier and Theo Rochette scored a goal each to make it 6-0.
In the evening game, the Finns got off to a strong start. Patrik Puistola made no mistake on a wrister, beating a screened Jet Greaves on the rush to make it 1-0 in the first. But goals from Robert Thomas and Dylan Holloway gave Canada a 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes, putting the pressure back on Finland.
But the Finns took over in the second period. Aleksander Barkov, Konsta Helenius and Aatu Raty made it 4-2, putting the Canadians into dangerous territory heading into the third period. Canada struggled to generate anything of note, with the Finns holding on for the victory.
Norway and Canada will battle for bronze at 9:30 AM ET on Sunday. Norway has never won a medal at this event, while Canada owns the record for most medals in tournament history with 53.
Norway 0, Switzerland 6
Norway
#28 Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW (Detroit Red Wings): MBN brought the energy in this one. Between hits, rebounds and play-driving, it felt like the Red Wings prospect was the most involved forward every time he hit the ice. Norway became significantly more dangerous the moment MBN joined the lineup, following a strong year in North America. He’s stronger, smarter and more skilled than most players on Norway and today was definitely a strong showing.
Switzerland
#9 Damien Riat, RW: Riat took a slashing penalty that surprised just about everyone in attendance. He then proceeded to register a goal and an assist the rest of the way, showing that the Swiss fourth line could bring the heat. I like Riat’s nonstop motor and relentless forechecking, which allowed him to have one of his best games of the tourney.
#62 Denis Malgin, C: Malgin was buzzing all night and it paid off with the 2-0 goal. He’s always in the right spot at the right time, and does an excellent job of getting himself into scoring lanes, in particular. While I prefer Malgin as a passer, he is exceptionally dangerous as a shooter, and he’s an absolute beast on the penalty kill. Malgin had two penalty kill breakaway chances he fell short of, but they were still remarkable efforts. He has established himself as an MVP contender, for sure.
#79 Calvin Thurkauf, RW: Find one bad pass he has made this tournament – good luck. The Swiss winger had the primary assist on the 2-0 goal, but he also opened up some scoring lanes for a few other opportunities. He’s such a smart forward with a quick, accurate wrister, and he’s always looking for the right pass at the right time.
#88 Christoph Bertschy, RW: Bertschy does an excellent job of being elusive and making himself difficult to contain in the attacking zone. He scored the opening goal of the game after spinning around the Norwegian net a few times before firing home an excellent wrister. That was his lone goal of the game but he kept the Norwegians occupied in their own zone the rest of the night.
Canada 2, Finland 4
Canada
#71 Macklin Celebrini, C (San Jose Sharks): Celebrini was impactful at both ends of the ice, as expected. He made an outstanding flip pass on the 2-1 goal after helping break up a high-quality opportunity at the other end. No matter what, I liked Celebrini’s tournament – he was Canada’s most effective forward at both ends of the ice, and made some mind-bending plays along the way.
#81 Dylan Holloway, LW (St. Louis Blues): Holloway had a huge game today – and it started in the weirdest way. He had the primary assist on the first Canadian goal after the shot nearly hit him in the face and bounced right to Thomas. Then, Holloway scored a few shifts later on a great shot following a deep pass from Celebrini. This felt like his most involved game of the tournament, regardless. He was flying and involved all around the net from start to finish.
Finland
#31 Justus Annunen, G (Nashville Predators): Annunen was excellent in this one. He couldn’t have done anything on the weird 1-1 goal, and the 2-1 goal was a great shot. But after that, Annunen was absolutely huge, making some big stops to keep Canada at bay. The Finns needed a big goalie performance today and they got it.
#13 Jesse Puljujarvi, RW: Yet another huge game from the winger. He won just about every single one of his battles, including the one that led to the fourth Finnish goal. He’s a powerful forward who rarely loses a 1-on-1, but he also has a fantastic shot, too. Puljujarvi has been one of my favorite non-NHLers at this tournament and I hope he gets another shot to prove himself.
#16 Aleksander Barkov, C (Florida Panthers): Barkov is a big, strong dude. He was an immovable object in the second period, where he scored to give the Finns some much-needed life. Despite missing the entire NHL season, Barkov hasn’t missed a beat, playing a strong, reliable two-way game. The Panthers are going to love having him in front of the crease next year.
#94 Konsta Helenius, RW (Buffalo Sabres): Helenius was everywhere yet again. His pure strength overwhelmed some of Canada’s defenders, and he had a nice assist on the opening goal before scoring the 3-2 goal in the second period. Helenius is a difficult opponent to contain because he plays with so much force, and he’s smart enough to get the puck into danger.