Finland Beat Austria to Keep 100% Record at World Championship

Finland defeats Austria

Finland scored five unanswered goals before Austria pulled two back. They now meet Switzerland to decide who tops Group A.

Granlund, Maenalanen and Puljujarvi led Finland past Austria. The win sets up a first-place clash with Switzerland on Tuesday...

Finland beat Austria 5-2 to make it six wins from six at the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship in Switzerland. The result sets up a Group A decider for first place against host nation Switzerland in the final game of the opening round.

Finland had already secured a quarter-final spot before scoring four unanswered goals against Great Britain last time out. Austria came in third in the group and fighting for a last-eight place, so they were expected to give Finland a tougher test in Zurich.

Austria looked up for the fight early on. They killed off a penalty after Dominic Hackl was called for holding, and the first period stayed tight with only 10 shots total. Finland finally broke through in the 19th minute.

This time Finland made their powerplay count after Benjamin Nissner was sent off for tripping. Aleksander Barkov turned neatly in front of goal and found Mikael Granlund on the right, who swept home to finish off a flowing move.

That goal shifted the game completely. Finland pulled away in the second period and made it 2-0 three minutes in. Waltteri Merala held the puck behind the net and played it back to Saku Maenalanen, who took it in stride and buried it.

Even when Merala was called for hooking, Finland kept rolling. Jesse Puljujarvi made it 3-0 in the 12th minute of the period by bundling in a rebound after Anton Lundell’s shot was blocked. Less than a minute later, Sakari Manninen scored from a rebound of his own after Aatu Raty’s shot was saved. Finland went into the second intermission up 4-0.

Austria had lost three straight after starting the tournament with three wins. They showed a glimpse of their best in the fourth minute of the third period when Nissner scored shortly after goalie Justus Annunen lost possession.

Any hope of a comeback was gone four minutes later. Vili Saarijarvi and Leni Hameenaho linked up to set up Patrik Puistola for Finland’s fifth. Leon Wallner grabbed a late consolation for Austria, but Finland held on for a 5-2 win to stay perfect.

Finland (@leijonat) remains undefeated 😤 #MensWorlds #IIHF

Game Recap 🔗 https://t.co/BF8rA9giGy pic.twitter.com/Ugk6z0NQDR

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 24, 2026

Austria face the United States in their final group game. If they lose, they’ll need results to go their way to hold onto a top-four spot.

Finland meet Switzerland in the last Group A match on Tuesday 26th. Both teams have 18 points from six games. Switzerland lead on goal difference with +30 compared to Finland’s +22.