Sweden Thrash Slovenia at 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship

Raymond and de la Rose lead Sweden to 6-0 win over Slovenia  

Sweden rebounded at the World Championship with a six-goal first 40 minutes and a shutout from Arvid Soderblom, setting up a game against Italy next.

Sweden climbed to fourth in Group B after a dominant win over Slovenia, with goals from Raymond, de la Rose, Hagg, Ekholm and more...

Sweden scored six unanswered goals against Slovenia in the first 40 minutes of their Group B game at the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship. The win moved them to two victories and two defeats so far.

Context after a tough start

Sweden sat outside the quarter-final spots after three matches in Fribourg, Switzerland. They needed a quick turnaround, even though their two losses came against Canada and the Czech Republic, the toughest opponents on their schedule.

Slovenia’s threat and Sweden’s fast start

Slovenia had already shown they were dangerous with an overtime win over the Czechs earlier in the tournament. Sam Hallam’s side made sure not to take them lightly, opening the scoring in the fourth minute. Carl Grundstrom’s shot was saved, and Lucas Raymond put away the rebound.

Sweden extend the lead 

Tre Kronor gave themselves breathing room with a second goal in the final minute of the first period. Linus Karlsson skated around the Slovenia net and passed it back for birthday player Jacob de la Rose to tap in an easy finish.

De la Rose scores again  

De la Rose got a second goal six minutes into the second period. Karlsson was behind the net once more, winning possession and flicking the puck back for the forward playing on his home rink.

Sweden pull further ahead  

That goal opened the floodgates. A minute later Oliver Ekman-Larsson moved the puck from left to right, where Robert Hagg was waiting to fire home a one-timer. Midway through the game Jan Cosic was called for holding, and on the power play Raymond had time and space to score his second following another Ekman-Larsson assist.

Sixth goal caps the period  

With less than three minutes left in the second, Anton Frondell picked up his second assist by setting up Mattias Ekholm. Ekholm’s shot had just enough on it to beat Zan Us and make it 6-0 for Sweden.

Sweden controls the ice in a dominant win! 🇸🇪💪 #MensWorlds #IIHF @trekronorse

🔗 Game recap: https://t.co/eDNRa8MzjJ pic.twitter.com/LndBYKHA5C

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 20, 2026

Sweden control the third period

In the third period Sweden kept pressing and had 14 more shots on goal, but they didn’t add to their tally. The result was already decided. Slovenia managed nine shots in the final 20 minutes, more than they had in the first two periods combined. That made Arvid Soderblom’s shutout more impressive, as he finished with 16 saves.

Standings and next games 

The 6-0 win moved Sweden up to fourth in the standings, while Slovenia stayed in sixth. Sweden play Italy next on Friday 22nd, and Slovenia face Canada on the same day.