Switzerland Beat Finland to Win Group A at 2026 Ice Hockey Worlds

Perfect Switzerland top Group A after win over Finland  

The hosts finished 7-0 in 60 minutes at the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship. Finland now face Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.

Dominik Egli, Attilio Biasca, Ken Jager and Nico Hischier scored for Switzerland as they sealed top spot and a quarterfinal clash with Sweden...

Sasha Barkov sparked a Finnish comeback, but Finland couldn’t keep pace with a dominant Switzerland side that claimed a 4-2 win in Zurich. The result handed Finland their first defeat of the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship and decided the winner of Group A.

Switzerland finished the group stage with seven wins in 60 minutes on home ice, while both teams entered the game with 18 points from six matches. Switzerland looked the stronger side on paper thanks to a superior goal difference that included two 9-0 victories. They backed that up early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead within the first four minutes.

Switzerland broke the deadlock in just 40 seconds. They opened with sustained pressure in Finland’s zone, and after Dominik Egli sent the puck across from the right, Attilio Biasca tipped it in.

Finland had trailed by a single goal only once all tournament before tonight. That changed quickly when Tim Berni drove down the right and forced a save from Justus Annunen. Finland failed to clear, and Ken Jager picked up the rebound. His shot deflected off Annunen and the crossbar on the way in to make it 2-0.

Finland avoided falling further behind after Hannes Bjorninen was penalized for holding. Early in the second period they also killed off consecutive penalties to Saku Maenalanen and Henri Jokiharju. Once back at full strength, their comeback got underway.

With just over seven minutes left in the period, Ville Heinola moved the puck to Henri Jokiharju on the right. Jokiharju sent it toward the near post, and after a couple of deflections it sat up perfectly for Aleksander Barkov to tap in.

Less than three minutes later Finland were level, with Barkov again in the right spot to finish. He took Konsta Helenius’ pass, skated around the committed goaltender, and slotted it home in style.

A perfect preliminary round for the host nation 💪🇨🇭 #MensWorlds #IIHF @SwissIceHockey pic.twitter.com/r2jEpB9VFN

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 26, 2026

Antti Pennanen’s side couldn’t capitalize on a late-period interference penalty against Tim Berni. Tempers flared just a minute into the third period when Nico Hischier and Aatu Raty were both sent off for roughing.

The Finnish comeback was undone by another penalty with four minutes left. Mikko Lehtonen was called for delay of game, and Ken Jager scored on the ensuing power play less than a minute later to put Switzerland back in front.

The #MensWorlds preliminary round is done, new Power Rankings are in! 👀🏒 #IIHF pic.twitter.com/0J4n9MThVL

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 26, 2026