Hungary's Peter Vincze (#61) celebrates a goal in his team's win against Kazakhstan. The Hungarians can secure IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship safety for themselves and the Kazakhs by beating Norway on Monday.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
At the top of the standings, thoughts are turning to the playoffs and the chance of taking home some coveted hardware. But at the foot of both groups, Monday brings games that will shape the relegation battle. For five teams, the next couple of days will determine their World Championship future – and they all have their fates in their own hands.
Group A
This is a straight fight. France and Slovenia are tied on one point at the foot of the standings. Whoever wins when the teams meet on Monday afternoon will stay in the top division; the vanquished will depart.
It’s familiar territory for Slovenia. Since 2010 the nation has been promoted six times. The previous five occasions led to an immediate return. But a battling performance in Sunday’s shoot-out loss against Austria raises hopes that it could be different this time.
Defender Jan Cosic, 22, is a newcomer at this level. He’s confident that he can help Slovenia stay up.
“We know we can play well, and that we can be competitive,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the game against France.”
Although France has also struggled at times in Stockholm, there’s still belief that the team is steadily improving. Forward Kevin Bozon felt that the 2-5 loss to Austria was something of a wake-up call, and although the next game against Sweden brought another defeat, the team is moving in the right direction.
“We had to show a better game that we managed against Austria and we did that,” he said after the 0-4 loss to the host nation. “The final score was a bit heavy, but our performance was still quite good.
“We know that Monday is a very important game and we have to be prepared. We corrected the mistakes we made against Austria, and we’ll be ready.”
France suffered relegation in 2019 after blowing a 3-0 lead against Great Britain and losing in overtime. And head coach Yorick Treille is well aware of the damage the national program might suffer if Les Bleus go down again.
“We’ve seen the highest level and it’s games like this where we learn,” he said. “We want to be playing this kind of opposition on a regular basis. It’s a learning curve, but we see that when we keep our structure we can live with anyone.”
Group B
If the situation is simple in Stockholm, things are more complicated in Herning. Here, three teams are in peril, although Kazakhstan could already be safe by the time it plays Switzerland on Tuesday in its final game of the tournament.
The big clash is the Monday evening showdown between Norway and Hungary. For Norway, it’s a simple case of win-or-bust. Much like last season, when Tobias Johansson’s team faced a similar test against Great Britain, salvation will only be secured with three points against the Magyars. Anything less means a drop down to Division IA for the first time since 2005.
“It’s gonna take all we’ve got,” said defender Max Krogdahl. “We need to find a way to win.
“And I know we can. We’ve done this before. It’s a must-win game, so I think we’ve just got to go out and believe in ourselves and believe that we can win the game.”
Often, struggling teams play cautious hockey. But Krogdahl expects Hungary to come out and attack.
“They go hard, chip the pucks and they go hard on 50-50 pucks,” he said. “They’re more offensive than defensive. They're a rushing team, so we gotta be prepared for that, and that they’re gonna come really hard, at least from the start.”
Since the introduction of multiple divisions at the IIHF World Championship, Hungary never survived a top-division campaign without relegation. Previous visits in 2009, 2016 and 2023 all ended in a swift return.
Hungarian defender Tamas Ortenszky has his eyes on the history books. “If we win, we stay in,” he said. “That’s never happened in Hungarian history before. We’re trying to make that happen, we’re trying to write history.”
This year a point or more against Norway guarantees safety. However, a 0-10 mauling on Sunday evening is hardly ideal preparation, especially since the Norwegians had a rest day after losing to Denmark on Saturday.
Team-mate Vilmos Gallo urged his colleagues to look beyond Sunday’s heavy loss “We’re just going to forget about this game [against Switzerland] and focus on tomorrow. It’s going to be a hard night. They’re coming off a rest day. We played today, but of course, we’re going to go and play hard.”
A Norwegian regulation win on Monday would send Kazakhstan to the foot of the standings. The Kazakhs would be level with Hungary on three points, but the head-to-head match brought a 4-2 win for the Magyars. Kazakhstan could still save itself with at least a point against Switzerland in its final outing – a tall order against a team that allowed just one goal in its last four games.
Kazakh head coach Oleg Bolyakin has no plans to watch the Norway-Hungary game, insisting that his focus was entirely on his own team’s efforts. “It makes no difference to us, I’ll just look at the final score,” he said after Sunday’s 1-6 loss to the USA. We have a rest day, we’ll work with the goalies and get Maxim Pavlenko ready to play Switzerland.
“We understand it won’t be easy, but it’s still in our own hands.”
Group A
This is a straight fight. France and Slovenia are tied on one point at the foot of the standings. Whoever wins when the teams meet on Monday afternoon will stay in the top division; the vanquished will depart.
It’s familiar territory for Slovenia. Since 2010 the nation has been promoted six times. The previous five occasions led to an immediate return. But a battling performance in Sunday’s shoot-out loss against Austria raises hopes that it could be different this time.
Defender Jan Cosic, 22, is a newcomer at this level. He’s confident that he can help Slovenia stay up.
“We know we can play well, and that we can be competitive,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the game against France.”
Although France has also struggled at times in Stockholm, there’s still belief that the team is steadily improving. Forward Kevin Bozon felt that the 2-5 loss to Austria was something of a wake-up call, and although the next game against Sweden brought another defeat, the team is moving in the right direction.
“We had to show a better game that we managed against Austria and we did that,” he said after the 0-4 loss to the host nation. “The final score was a bit heavy, but our performance was still quite good.
“We know that Monday is a very important game and we have to be prepared. We corrected the mistakes we made against Austria, and we’ll be ready.”
France suffered relegation in 2019 after blowing a 3-0 lead against Great Britain and losing in overtime. And head coach Yorick Treille is well aware of the damage the national program might suffer if Les Bleus go down again.
“We’ve seen the highest level and it’s games like this where we learn,” he said. “We want to be playing this kind of opposition on a regular basis. It’s a learning curve, but we see that when we keep our structure we can live with anyone.”
Group B
If the situation is simple in Stockholm, things are more complicated in Herning. Here, three teams are in peril, although Kazakhstan could already be safe by the time it plays Switzerland on Tuesday in its final game of the tournament.
The big clash is the Monday evening showdown between Norway and Hungary. For Norway, it’s a simple case of win-or-bust. Much like last season, when Tobias Johansson’s team faced a similar test against Great Britain, salvation will only be secured with three points against the Magyars. Anything less means a drop down to Division IA for the first time since 2005.
“It’s gonna take all we’ve got,” said defender Max Krogdahl. “We need to find a way to win.
“And I know we can. We’ve done this before. It’s a must-win game, so I think we’ve just got to go out and believe in ourselves and believe that we can win the game.”
Often, struggling teams play cautious hockey. But Krogdahl expects Hungary to come out and attack.
“They go hard, chip the pucks and they go hard on 50-50 pucks,” he said. “They’re more offensive than defensive. They're a rushing team, so we gotta be prepared for that, and that they’re gonna come really hard, at least from the start.”
Since the introduction of multiple divisions at the IIHF World Championship, Hungary never survived a top-division campaign without relegation. Previous visits in 2009, 2016 and 2023 all ended in a swift return.
Hungarian defender Tamas Ortenszky has his eyes on the history books. “If we win, we stay in,” he said. “That’s never happened in Hungarian history before. We’re trying to make that happen, we’re trying to write history.”
This year a point or more against Norway guarantees safety. However, a 0-10 mauling on Sunday evening is hardly ideal preparation, especially since the Norwegians had a rest day after losing to Denmark on Saturday.
Team-mate Vilmos Gallo urged his colleagues to look beyond Sunday’s heavy loss “We’re just going to forget about this game [against Switzerland] and focus on tomorrow. It’s going to be a hard night. They’re coming off a rest day. We played today, but of course, we’re going to go and play hard.”
A Norwegian regulation win on Monday would send Kazakhstan to the foot of the standings. The Kazakhs would be level with Hungary on three points, but the head-to-head match brought a 4-2 win for the Magyars. Kazakhstan could still save itself with at least a point against Switzerland in its final outing – a tall order against a team that allowed just one goal in its last four games.
Kazakh head coach Oleg Bolyakin has no plans to watch the Norway-Hungary game, insisting that his focus was entirely on his own team’s efforts. “It makes no difference to us, I’ll just look at the final score,” he said after Sunday’s 1-6 loss to the USA. We have a rest day, we’ll work with the goalies and get Maxim Pavlenko ready to play Switzerland.
“We understand it won’t be easy, but it’s still in our own hands.”