photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
On Sunday, two teams are trying to write history by doing what no other team from their nation has ever done before.
First up is Norway, trying to win the nation’s first IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship medal in their bronze medal game against Canada, and a few hours later, Switzerland — which is making its third straight appearance in the gold medal game — is going for gold on home ice.
In Zurich, Switzerland cruised through the preliminary round with a 39-7 goal difference and then cleared its path to the final by beating Sweden and Norway with a 9-1 goal difference.
With two bitter losses in the final in 2024 (against Czechia) and in 2025 (against the US), the Swiss will do whatever it takes to put an end to that streak.
“Almost every single one of them was extremely tight, either in a shootout or, like last year, in overtime. We know how to play a tight-checking game, but we can't sit back. We have to go get it,” said Nino Niederreiter.
The message is clear — and has been throughout the tournament: the Swiss will not be taking any steps back. They won’t shy away; they want to dictate the terms of the game.
They have depth on offense — four of the top five in tournament scoring are Swiss — they have three solid defense pairs, and they have Leonard Genoni, whose goals-against average in the tournament is 0.5. Yes, he’s let in one goal in every other game.
“The biggest thing for us is just that we can't sit back. We've got to go attack, and we've got to go on with that. If we get beat, we've got to get beat aggressively. I think that's something we've got to take out of the final nights in the past,” Niederreiter added.
And of course, there’s the loud, chanting home crowd, who expect nothing less than a gold medal in the game.
“You can't describe it. It's so amazing to get to play in the rink with this atmosphere. It's insane, and I think it also reflects the way we played. They gave us so much energy, and we tried to use it and give it back to them,” said Nicolas Baechler.
There’s a “if not now, then when?” atmosphere in the air. Switzerland winning its first world championship on home ice sure has all the elements of a great fairytale.
A good fairytale needs a good villain, and Finland will gladly play that part. Not only has Finland not made it to the final since 2022 — it hasn't even made it past the quarterfinal since then.
The two teams have already played once in the tournament, and the Swiss won the preliminary-round game 4-2. But that’s ancient history when the puck drops on Sunday.
The Finns are all about structure, and there have been few breakdowns in that structure during the tournament. Just like the Swiss, Finland steamrolled its preliminary-round opponents — except for the hosts — with a 31-11 goal difference, and then clinically eliminated first the Czechs 4-1, and then Canada 4-2.
Weaved into the structure, there’s a string of exceptional individuals.
Justus Annunen, for example, carries the tradition of great Finnish goaltenders.
The offense is firing on all cylinders. Team Finland captain Aleksander Barkov has eleven points in nine games. He scored the goal that tied the game against Canada, and he scored Finland’s two goals in the preliminary-round game against Switzerland.
Jesse Puljujarvi has four goals and nine points. Anton Lundell, Patrik Puistola, and Aatu Raty also have four goals. Lenni Hameenaho has eight points in nine games, and Mikael Granlund has six points in six games.
They get great support from defenders Mikko Lehtonen and Henri Jokiharju, who quarterback the offense from the blue line and have collected seven and eight points, respectively.
It’s only been five days since the preliminary-round game between Finland and Switzerland, so both teams know exactly what to expect.
“We know they’re a skilled team, they play as a five-man unit, and they have a great goalie. We need to work harder and smarter than them,” Annunen said.
Canada will have to shake off the disappointment and get ready for the bronze-medal game in less than 24 hours.
“You put this jersey on, and I think you understand the pride that comes with that, regardless of whether it's the first game of the round robin or the bronze-medal game. I know everybody is disappointed, but we have to accept the fact that we're not [playing for gold], and show up,” said Sidney Crosby.
Norway will definitely show up, noted defender Stian Solberg, even before he knew they’d face Canada in the bronze-medal game.
“We’ve never played in a bronze-medal game, so we’ll be more excited about it than the other team,” he said.
He may be onto something, and besides, they say you can only control your own attitude. However, what Norway doesn’t have is an element of surprise like it did in the preliminary-round game.
“They may have underestimated us then, but it will be fun to meet them again,” Jacob Berglund said.
Norway has only beaten Canada twice in IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship history, in 2000 and in 2023 (in a shootout), and even though it felt like an upset, it may be good to remember that Canada won the preliminary-round game in Fribourg, even if it was in overtime.
But of course Norway has a chance.
All it takes is for Henrik Haukeland to bounce back and be the wall he has been in the tournament.
“It’s a big opportunity for us, so we’ll look at what we did wrong today and fix it [in the bronze-medal game],” the Norwegian goaltender said.
Simple as that.
Whether that will be enough to write Norwegian hockey history remains to be seen.
First up is Norway, trying to win the nation’s first IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship medal in their bronze medal game against Canada, and a few hours later, Switzerland — which is making its third straight appearance in the gold medal game — is going for gold on home ice.
In Zurich, Switzerland cruised through the preliminary round with a 39-7 goal difference and then cleared its path to the final by beating Sweden and Norway with a 9-1 goal difference.
With two bitter losses in the final in 2024 (against Czechia) and in 2025 (against the US), the Swiss will do whatever it takes to put an end to that streak.
“Almost every single one of them was extremely tight, either in a shootout or, like last year, in overtime. We know how to play a tight-checking game, but we can't sit back. We have to go get it,” said Nino Niederreiter.
The message is clear — and has been throughout the tournament: the Swiss will not be taking any steps back. They won’t shy away; they want to dictate the terms of the game.
They have depth on offense — four of the top five in tournament scoring are Swiss — they have three solid defense pairs, and they have Leonard Genoni, whose goals-against average in the tournament is 0.5. Yes, he’s let in one goal in every other game.
“The biggest thing for us is just that we can't sit back. We've got to go attack, and we've got to go on with that. If we get beat, we've got to get beat aggressively. I think that's something we've got to take out of the final nights in the past,” Niederreiter added.
And of course, there’s the loud, chanting home crowd, who expect nothing less than a gold medal in the game.
“You can't describe it. It's so amazing to get to play in the rink with this atmosphere. It's insane, and I think it also reflects the way we played. They gave us so much energy, and we tried to use it and give it back to them,” said Nicolas Baechler.
There’s a “if not now, then when?” atmosphere in the air. Switzerland winning its first world championship on home ice sure has all the elements of a great fairytale.
A good fairytale needs a good villain, and Finland will gladly play that part. Not only has Finland not made it to the final since 2022 — it hasn't even made it past the quarterfinal since then.
The two teams have already played once in the tournament, and the Swiss won the preliminary-round game 4-2. But that’s ancient history when the puck drops on Sunday.
The Finns are all about structure, and there have been few breakdowns in that structure during the tournament. Just like the Swiss, Finland steamrolled its preliminary-round opponents — except for the hosts — with a 31-11 goal difference, and then clinically eliminated first the Czechs 4-1, and then Canada 4-2.
Weaved into the structure, there’s a string of exceptional individuals.
Justus Annunen, for example, carries the tradition of great Finnish goaltenders.
The offense is firing on all cylinders. Team Finland captain Aleksander Barkov has eleven points in nine games. He scored the goal that tied the game against Canada, and he scored Finland’s two goals in the preliminary-round game against Switzerland.
Jesse Puljujarvi has four goals and nine points. Anton Lundell, Patrik Puistola, and Aatu Raty also have four goals. Lenni Hameenaho has eight points in nine games, and Mikael Granlund has six points in six games.
They get great support from defenders Mikko Lehtonen and Henri Jokiharju, who quarterback the offense from the blue line and have collected seven and eight points, respectively.
It’s only been five days since the preliminary-round game between Finland and Switzerland, so both teams know exactly what to expect.
“We know they’re a skilled team, they play as a five-man unit, and they have a great goalie. We need to work harder and smarter than them,” Annunen said.
Canada will have to shake off the disappointment and get ready for the bronze-medal game in less than 24 hours.
“You put this jersey on, and I think you understand the pride that comes with that, regardless of whether it's the first game of the round robin or the bronze-medal game. I know everybody is disappointed, but we have to accept the fact that we're not [playing for gold], and show up,” said Sidney Crosby.
Norway will definitely show up, noted defender Stian Solberg, even before he knew they’d face Canada in the bronze-medal game.
“We’ve never played in a bronze-medal game, so we’ll be more excited about it than the other team,” he said.
He may be onto something, and besides, they say you can only control your own attitude. However, what Norway doesn’t have is an element of surprise like it did in the preliminary-round game.
“They may have underestimated us then, but it will be fun to meet them again,” Jacob Berglund said.
Norway has only beaten Canada twice in IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship history, in 2000 and in 2023 (in a shootout), and even though it felt like an upset, it may be good to remember that Canada won the preliminary-round game in Fribourg, even if it was in overtime.
But of course Norway has a chance.
All it takes is for Henrik Haukeland to bounce back and be the wall he has been in the tournament.
“It’s a big opportunity for us, so we’ll look at what we did wrong today and fix it [in the bronze-medal game],” the Norwegian goaltender said.
Simple as that.
Whether that will be enough to write Norwegian hockey history remains to be seen.