Finland's Mikael Granlund (#64) accepts congratulations from his teammates after scoring the opening goal in a 5-2 win over Austria at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Talk about a methodical team effort. Finland got goals from five different players to defeat Austria 5-2 for its sixth straight win on Sunday in Zurich.
Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and an assist. Mikael Granlund, Saku Maenalanen, Sakari Manninen, and Patrik Puistola also scored for Finland, and Villi Saarijarvi got two assists.
Of the balanced attack, defender Nikolas Matinpalo said: "That's important, of course. We don't have to trust just one or two lines. We have four very good lines."
Benjamin Nissner and Leon Waller replied for Austria, which was outshot 35-17.
The Finns face off against also-perfect host Switzerland on Tuesday to determine first place in Group A at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. It'll be a showdown between superstar NHL captains in Finland’ s Aleksander Barkov (Florida) and Switzerland’s Roman Josi (Nashville).
"I think we have good confidence at the moment, with six games behind us and no losses," said Finnish coach Antti Pennanen. "Overall, I think our special teams, power play, PK, as well as 5-on-5, are doing great. We have a good back end and four good lines. But we have to be humble enough to understand that tomorrow's game against Switzerland will be a tough game. And of course, we have to improve our game."
At the 2026 Olympics, Finland rallied for a 3-2 quarter-final over Switzerland in overtime and then took the bronze medal. The Finns last won gold at the Men’s Worlds on home ice in Tampere in 2022, the same year they won their first Olympic gold in Beijing. Switzerland has never won gold at either tournament, but came close at the last two Men’s Worlds with back-to-back silver medals.
Sunday didn't see a duel between Finnish-born goalies. Austrian coach Roger Bader rested starter Atte Tolvanen in favour of David Kickert before facing the U.S. on Tuesday in their last group-stage game. The Austrians could get to 12 points with a regulation-time win. The U.S. could reach 11 points by beating Hungary and Austria.
"It's going to be like Game Seven for both teams," said Austria's Dominic Zwerger. "I think it's a must-win if you want to qualify for the quarter-finals. It's going to be a hard-fought game against the defending world champions."
Pennanen’s team mostly smothered Austria’s early attempts to attack, but Lucas Thaler had a good chance with about four minutes left, firing past goalie Justus Annunen's left post on a 2-on-1.
The Finns drew first blood on their second man advantage at 18:39. After Barkov looked to tip Ville Heinola’s point shot on net, he got the rebound and fed it to Granlund in the right faceoff circle. The Anaheim Ducks veteran got it past Kickert's glove for his first goal of these Worlds. First-period shots favoured Finland 10-2.
Suomi's momentum carried over to the second period. Capitalizing on a good forecheck, Waltteri Merela centred the puck to an incoming Maenalanen, who beat Kickert high for a 2-0 lead at 3:14.
At 11:49, Puljujarvi pitchforked in a loose puck in the crease to make it 3-0. The former NHLer has a career-best eight points so far in his third Worlds.
Just 47 seconds later, Manninen, who plays with Puljujarvi for the Swiss NL's Geneve-Servette, banged in the rebound from Aatu Raty's shot for his first goal of the tournament.
In the third period, Austria got their loyal fans cheering when Nissner spoiled Annunen's shutout bid at 3:24. The goalie misplayed the puck behind his net, and it came out front to Zwerger, who set up his linemate to loft it into the gaping cage.
Finland was unfazed. Puistola restored the four-goal lead at 7:29, converting a rebound for his third of these Worlds. Wallner added one more for the Austrians with 1:36 left, but that was as close as they would get.
"We actually won the third period 2-1, so that's a positive note for us going into Tuesday's game," Zwerger noted.
The last few days have been hard for coach Roger Bader's troops. They started the tournament with three straight wins over Great Britain, Hungary, and Latvia. However, the level of competition has ramped up. Austria has lost its last three games to Switzerland, Germany, and Finland by an aggregate of 20-4.
Looking ahead to battling Switzerland, Saarijarvi said: "We have to be aware of their strengths. With their speed and skill, we have to take their time and space away. We can't turn the puck over in a bad spot, so we have to be very smart with how we finish our offensive-zone plays. We can't turn the puck over in the neutral zone and let them attack easily. And in the D-zone, we have to play hard."
This was the 11th Austrian Ice Hockey World Championship loss to Finland dating back to 1957. The Austrians secured a 3-3 tie in 2000. Their lone victory over Finland was 3-2 in 2024. They rallied from a 2-0 deficit and Benjamin Baumgartner scored the winner with one second left.
Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and an assist. Mikael Granlund, Saku Maenalanen, Sakari Manninen, and Patrik Puistola also scored for Finland, and Villi Saarijarvi got two assists.
Of the balanced attack, defender Nikolas Matinpalo said: "That's important, of course. We don't have to trust just one or two lines. We have four very good lines."
Benjamin Nissner and Leon Waller replied for Austria, which was outshot 35-17.
The Finns face off against also-perfect host Switzerland on Tuesday to determine first place in Group A at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. It'll be a showdown between superstar NHL captains in Finland’ s Aleksander Barkov (Florida) and Switzerland’s Roman Josi (Nashville).
"I think we have good confidence at the moment, with six games behind us and no losses," said Finnish coach Antti Pennanen. "Overall, I think our special teams, power play, PK, as well as 5-on-5, are doing great. We have a good back end and four good lines. But we have to be humble enough to understand that tomorrow's game against Switzerland will be a tough game. And of course, we have to improve our game."
At the 2026 Olympics, Finland rallied for a 3-2 quarter-final over Switzerland in overtime and then took the bronze medal. The Finns last won gold at the Men’s Worlds on home ice in Tampere in 2022, the same year they won their first Olympic gold in Beijing. Switzerland has never won gold at either tournament, but came close at the last two Men’s Worlds with back-to-back silver medals.
Sunday didn't see a duel between Finnish-born goalies. Austrian coach Roger Bader rested starter Atte Tolvanen in favour of David Kickert before facing the U.S. on Tuesday in their last group-stage game. The Austrians could get to 12 points with a regulation-time win. The U.S. could reach 11 points by beating Hungary and Austria.
"It's going to be like Game Seven for both teams," said Austria's Dominic Zwerger. "I think it's a must-win if you want to qualify for the quarter-finals. It's going to be a hard-fought game against the defending world champions."
Pennanen’s team mostly smothered Austria’s early attempts to attack, but Lucas Thaler had a good chance with about four minutes left, firing past goalie Justus Annunen's left post on a 2-on-1.
The Finns drew first blood on their second man advantage at 18:39. After Barkov looked to tip Ville Heinola’s point shot on net, he got the rebound and fed it to Granlund in the right faceoff circle. The Anaheim Ducks veteran got it past Kickert's glove for his first goal of these Worlds. First-period shots favoured Finland 10-2.
Suomi's momentum carried over to the second period. Capitalizing on a good forecheck, Waltteri Merela centred the puck to an incoming Maenalanen, who beat Kickert high for a 2-0 lead at 3:14.
At 11:49, Puljujarvi pitchforked in a loose puck in the crease to make it 3-0. The former NHLer has a career-best eight points so far in his third Worlds.
Just 47 seconds later, Manninen, who plays with Puljujarvi for the Swiss NL's Geneve-Servette, banged in the rebound from Aatu Raty's shot for his first goal of the tournament.
In the third period, Austria got their loyal fans cheering when Nissner spoiled Annunen's shutout bid at 3:24. The goalie misplayed the puck behind his net, and it came out front to Zwerger, who set up his linemate to loft it into the gaping cage.
Finland was unfazed. Puistola restored the four-goal lead at 7:29, converting a rebound for his third of these Worlds. Wallner added one more for the Austrians with 1:36 left, but that was as close as they would get.
"We actually won the third period 2-1, so that's a positive note for us going into Tuesday's game," Zwerger noted.
The last few days have been hard for coach Roger Bader's troops. They started the tournament with three straight wins over Great Britain, Hungary, and Latvia. However, the level of competition has ramped up. Austria has lost its last three games to Switzerland, Germany, and Finland by an aggregate of 20-4.
Looking ahead to battling Switzerland, Saarijarvi said: "We have to be aware of their strengths. With their speed and skill, we have to take their time and space away. We can't turn the puck over in a bad spot, so we have to be very smart with how we finish our offensive-zone plays. We can't turn the puck over in the neutral zone and let them attack easily. And in the D-zone, we have to play hard."
This was the 11th Austrian Ice Hockey World Championship loss to Finland dating back to 1957. The Austrians secured a 3-3 tie in 2000. Their lone victory over Finland was 3-2 in 2024. They rallied from a 2-0 deficit and Benjamin Baumgartner scored the winner with one second left.
Finland vs Austria - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
OF