World Championship 2026: Finland Keeps Perfect Record with Shutout in Zurich

Perfect Finland advances to quarterfinals after dominant win over Great Britain

Ville Heinola scored twice to lead Finland past GB in Zurich, as the Finns advanced to the quarterfinals with three games to spare.

Joonas Korpisalo made nine saves for his shutout as Finland stayed second in Group A behind Switzerland on goal difference...

Finland made it five wins from five at the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship with a 4-0 victory over Great Britain in Zurich, Switzerland. It was their first shutout of the tournament so far in Group A.

A 7-1 win over Latvia the day before had already secured Finland’s spot in the quarterfinals with three group games left. That allowed head coach Antti Pennanen to rotate his lineup against Great Britain, who had lost their opening four matches.

The Finns showed no mercy from the start, opening the scoring in the first minute. Konsta Helenius’ pass deflected off the glass and fell perfectly for Ville Heinola, who fired a one-timer past the goalie.

Great Britain pushed back for the rest of the first period, blocking 14 of Finland’s shots and managing six of their own. They couldn’t find an equalizer though. The second period was completely one-sided, with Finland firing 17 shots on goal while Team GB didn’t register a single attempt.

Two of those Finnish shots beat the goalie. In the ninth minute, Heinola scored his second of the game and third of the tournament. He controlled Henri Jokiharju’s pass with his skate, set himself, and shot through traffic to make it 2-0.

Midway through the game, Waltteri Merala and Johnny Curran both went to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalties didn’t slow Finland down. Two minutes later, Mikael Granlund and Aatu Raty combined with quick passing to set up Mikko Lehtonen for the team’s third goal.

Nathanael Halbert took two penalties in the third period, but Finland couldn’t convert either power play. They did manage to add a fourth goal with just over a minute left. After moving the puck around a tiring British defense, Vili Saarijarvi sent a smart pass to Henri Jokiharju, who finished it off to make it 4-0. Joonas Korpisalo only had to make nine saves to secure the shutout.

The defense showed up, scoring all four goals to secure win number 5️⃣ for @leijonat💪 #MensWorlds #IIHF

Game Recap 🔗 https://t.co/XIuedvlzMl pic.twitter.com/XD3PV3VqR4

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 22, 2026

Finland remain second in the standings behind Switzerland on goal difference. On Sunday, May 24th, they’ll try to keep their perfect record alive against Austria before wrapping up the group against Switzerland two days later. Great Britain are still searching for their first point and will face Latvia on Sunday.