Canada Blank Italy 6-0 to Stay Perfect in Group B

Canada continued their flawless start to the 2026 IIHF World Championship with a 6-0 shutout of Italy at BCF Arena in Fribourg on Saturday. 6,455 fans saw the Canadians outshoot the tournament newcomers 41-19 and dominate every period.

How it unfolded

Dylan Holloway got things started at 9:21 of the first period, finishing a feed from John Tavares and Ryan O'Reilly. Fraser Minten made it 2-0 just 47 seconds later (10:08) from Denton Mateychuk. Macklin Celebrini capped the opening period at 16:56 from Porter Martone and Darnell Nurse, sending the Italians to the dressing room down 3-0.

The second period was more of the same. Celebrini scored his second of the game at 2:09 from Dylan Cozens and Sidney Crosby. Evan Bouchard added a power-play goal at 18:14 from Celebrini and Gabriel Vilardi, and O'Reilly capped a three-goal middle period just 25 seconds later (18:39) on a feed from Tavares and Holloway. A scoreless third period locked in the rout.

Goaltenders and shots

Cam Talbot picked up the shutout with 19 saves. Davide Fadani took the loss for Italy with 35 saves on 41 attempts. Celebrini led the night with 2 goals and an assist, while O'Reilly's 1+2 and Tavares' 0+2 lifted Canada's depth.

Coming up

Canada lead Group B with 6 points and a plus-eight goal differential. Both teams return to action Monday: Canada face Denmark and Italy meet Czechia, both in Fribourg.