Two goals in the last 75 seconds from Niklas Aaram Olsen secured Norway’s place in the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship top division in the most dramatic fashion.

“Nothing beats that feeling,” said Norway’s hat-trick hero after the game. “And it’s a real pleasure to give the years coming after us an opportunity to play in the top division.”

The Norwegians blew a 2-0 lead to trail 2-3 with six to play, and looked destined to drop down to Division IA.

But Aaram Olsen, playing in his third and final U18s, had other ideas. Germany took two penalties in quick succession, and the five-on-three power play brought a tying goal. Aaram Olsen was on the ice for the full 1:13 of that power play, and wired a shot into the top corner as Casper Kjolmoen screened the goalie.

And he stayed out there to grab the winner on 59:37, shooting home from the top of the left-hand circle to complete his hat-trick and finish a dramatic turnaround.

“We talked about what we would do with the PP, we wanted to get a lot of shots, play on the inside,” added Aaram Olsen.

Earlier, Norway opened a 2-0 lead on goals from Marcus Saether and Aaram Olsen. Germany hit back to tie it up with two from Max Calce, before Luis Becker grabbed the go-ahead marker with six to play and Aaram Olsen got his team out of jail late on.
 
The preliminary round form favoured Germany. An overtime win over Czechia was the highlight of the team’s performances in Bratislava and outranked anything Norway managed in Trencin.

But the Norwegians are survival specialists: this was their fourth successive relegation round game, a run that began with victory over the Germans in Porrentruy in 2023. On that occasion, too, the group stage pointed to Germany having the edge.

With high stakes in play, the early exchanges were predictably nervous. In the first 10 minutes of play, goalies Niclas Wolter and Felix Timraz-Westin were barely tested. Germany got the first power play of the game midway through the opening frame, but made little impact and almost allowed a two-on-one rush as Mathias Andresen Sivertsen jumped out of the box and onto a play.

Norway got in front on 13:50. Defender Saether remained alert to intercept a German clearance in centre ice. With few options, he drove into the O-zone and snaffled a fine snipe from the right-hand circle to beat Wolter.

Stung, Germany looked for a way back and came close in the final seconds of the opening frame. Tobias Krestan had an active shift, rapping Timraz-Westin’s pads from close range before clipping the crossbar and then firing in one last shot right on the hooter, to the annoyance of some of Norway’s players.

But those same Norwegians were celebrating 28 seconds after the restart as Aaram Olsen doubled the lead. The forward, playing his final game at this level after three U18 World Championships, found open ice on the edge of the circle and shot home Benjamin Haglund’s pass from behind the net.

Soon after, Aaram Olsen beat Wolter with a quick release after August Jones-Nilsson’s face-off win, but this time his effort came back off the crossbar.

Just as the pressure seemed to be building on Germany, Andreas Becherer’s team found a way back into the game. It came from Calce, who played in last year’s tournament as Max Penkin while aged just 15. New name, same predatory instincts, Calce potted his first goal of the 2026 event after Krestan won possession from Sondre Berg behind the Norwegian net.

And Germany was close to tying it when a Jonas Schwarz shot hit the post. It bounced out across the crease, but no forward could get a stick to steer it into the open net.

That step up in pace prompted a bout of high-pitched chanting from behind the goal, where the next generation of fans from a Trencin kindergarten were watching Next Gen Stars on the ice. The pre-schoolers were taking advantage of Wednesday’s early start time to catch some live hockey action – a first for many of the group of about 20 youngsters.

Germany carried its momentum into the third period, and Calce highlighted the predatory skills that have seen him break into Mannheim’s DEL team this season. On paper, it was similar to the first: Krestan winning possession behind the net, Tim Hartmann helping it on, Calce scoring in front. But that overlooks Calce’s slalom approach, putting Jones-Nilsson in a spin before squeezing the puck through the tightest of gaps between Timraz-Westin’s skate and the near post.

Timraz-Westin’s desperate stretch proved too much for him, and he left the game with Aas taking over in the Norwegian net. It wasn’t long before he was closing the door on the effervescent Calce as Germany scented survival.

The scent grew stronger with six minutes left when Becker beat Aas to put Germany up for the first time. He picked up the pieces as two Norwegians closed down Jonas Schwarz to the right of the net. And Becker found a shooting lane past two more opponents to rip a rising shot past the back-up goalie and put his team up for the first time in the game.

But Norway was not done. Daniel Kettler tripped Kjolmoen to give the Norwegians a power play with 2:28 on the clock. Five seconds later Leon Lell joined him in the box, reducing Germany to three skaters and paving the way for a spectacular recovery.

For Aaram Olsen, past experience very much guaranteed future results as he reflected on a third successful survival showdown. “I’ve played these games twice before,” he said. “I remember a little bit about it, it’s a lot about mindset in those games.”