photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
Norway defeated Latvia, 2-0, tonight to advance to the semi-finals on Saturday. It will be their first ever semis appearance, and it also guarantees that they will be playing for a medal on Sunday.
Wow!
Henrik Haukeland stopped all 35 shots for his tournament-leading third shutout. He also sports a career-best 6-0 record so far this tournament.
"It's been an amazing journey so far," Haukeland said. "I'm really happy with how we played, but I think we weren't up to our normal standards. We got a little passive in the third period, but today was also the first time in the tournament we had something to lose. But it was unbelievable. I'm so proud of the guys."
Latvia made it to the bronze-medal game for the first time in 2023, defeating the U.S., 4-3, on a Kristians Rubins goal in OT to take third place. They were trying to get there again, but fell just short.
"They played well defensively and made it tough to get to the net, and their goalie was great," said Latvian captain Rudolfs Balcers. "And we didn't bury our chances. Congrats to them. They're a great team and they're having a great tournament. We just didn't find a way to win. We had some young guys come in, and no one knew what to expect. But we came together as a group and battled hard and showed heart."
Norway is in unchartered territory. Their only previous quarter-finals appearances were 2012 and 2008 under legendary coach Roy Johansen, and both were losses. Their highest ever World Championship finish was a 4th in 1951, in Paris, when seven teams played a round robin. Norway won just two of six games, but that put them in fourth.
"The distance between the countries is getting smaller every year," Haukeland added. "There are so many good leagues and players everywhere in Europe now. So it's good to see that the smaller countries can compete."
Both teams started the game haltingly. There were several icings, many turnovers in centre ice, blocked shots galore, and play marked by caution. Shots were 1-1 for the longest time, and although the final tally was 7-6 Latvia, scoring chances were few and far between.
Patrick Elvsveen had the best shot for Norway. He drove down the left wing and got open to take a shot, but Kristers Gudlevskis stuck out his glove to make the save.
Soon after, the Latvians had a solid chance when Balcers got a shot through traffic, but this time Haukeland kicked out his left leg to make the pad save.
Norway had the only power play of the period, but even with the extra skater there was little in the way of dangerous chances.
Things started slowly in the second as well, but Norway opened the scoring at 7:10 on a quick play by Tinus Luc Koblar. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard made a clever play by the side of the goal to get the puck, and his quick shot was stopped by Gudlevskis. But the puck came right to Koblar, who whipped it in for the 1-0 Norway lead. The young forward is having a breakout tournament and now has six goals, second among all skaters.
Latvia had a great opportunity to get back into the game when Norway captain Andreas Martinsen took two penalties in quick succession, but the penalty killers did a sensational job in protecting Haukeland and preserving the slim lead.
Norway also had two power plays in the second but couldn’t extend their lead either. In the third, Latvia applied a bit more pressure, but Haukeland played like nothing was going to get by him this night. And nothing did.
Noah Steen put one into the empty net with 15.4 seconds remaining to confirm the incredible win.
Wow!
Henrik Haukeland stopped all 35 shots for his tournament-leading third shutout. He also sports a career-best 6-0 record so far this tournament.
"It's been an amazing journey so far," Haukeland said. "I'm really happy with how we played, but I think we weren't up to our normal standards. We got a little passive in the third period, but today was also the first time in the tournament we had something to lose. But it was unbelievable. I'm so proud of the guys."
Latvia made it to the bronze-medal game for the first time in 2023, defeating the U.S., 4-3, on a Kristians Rubins goal in OT to take third place. They were trying to get there again, but fell just short.
"They played well defensively and made it tough to get to the net, and their goalie was great," said Latvian captain Rudolfs Balcers. "And we didn't bury our chances. Congrats to them. They're a great team and they're having a great tournament. We just didn't find a way to win. We had some young guys come in, and no one knew what to expect. But we came together as a group and battled hard and showed heart."
Norway is in unchartered territory. Their only previous quarter-finals appearances were 2012 and 2008 under legendary coach Roy Johansen, and both were losses. Their highest ever World Championship finish was a 4th in 1951, in Paris, when seven teams played a round robin. Norway won just two of six games, but that put them in fourth.
"The distance between the countries is getting smaller every year," Haukeland added. "There are so many good leagues and players everywhere in Europe now. So it's good to see that the smaller countries can compete."
Both teams started the game haltingly. There were several icings, many turnovers in centre ice, blocked shots galore, and play marked by caution. Shots were 1-1 for the longest time, and although the final tally was 7-6 Latvia, scoring chances were few and far between.
Patrick Elvsveen had the best shot for Norway. He drove down the left wing and got open to take a shot, but Kristers Gudlevskis stuck out his glove to make the save.
Soon after, the Latvians had a solid chance when Balcers got a shot through traffic, but this time Haukeland kicked out his left leg to make the pad save.
Norway had the only power play of the period, but even with the extra skater there was little in the way of dangerous chances.
Things started slowly in the second as well, but Norway opened the scoring at 7:10 on a quick play by Tinus Luc Koblar. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard made a clever play by the side of the goal to get the puck, and his quick shot was stopped by Gudlevskis. But the puck came right to Koblar, who whipped it in for the 1-0 Norway lead. The young forward is having a breakout tournament and now has six goals, second among all skaters.
Latvia had a great opportunity to get back into the game when Norway captain Andreas Martinsen took two penalties in quick succession, but the penalty killers did a sensational job in protecting Haukeland and preserving the slim lead.
Norway also had two power plays in the second but couldn’t extend their lead either. In the third, Latvia applied a bit more pressure, but Haukeland played like nothing was going to get by him this night. And nothing did.
Noah Steen put one into the empty net with 15.4 seconds remaining to confirm the incredible win.
QF4 - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
OF