Norway Edge Denmark 4-3 in Overtime to Finish Group B Runners-Up

Norway closed their group stage with a heart-stopping 4-3 overtime win over Denmark at BCF Arena in Fribourg on Tuesday lunchtime, locking up second place in Group B. 4,062 fans saw the Danes claw back from 3-1 down, force overtime with 2 seconds left and still walk away on the wrong side of the result.

How it unfolded

Norway opened the scoring at 11:55 of the first period when Tinus Luc Koblar finished from Andreas Martinsen and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. Joachim Blichfeld pulled Denmark level at 7:53 of the second with an unassisted strike, but Norway responded twice quickly. Andreas Martinsen restored the lead on the power play at 10:42 from Thomas Olsen and Sander Hurrod, and Koblar scored his second of the night at 14:00 from Max Krogdahl and Christian Kaasastul to make it 3-1.

Denmark were not done. Blichfeld converted his second power-play goal of the day at 15:02 from Nick Olesen and Phillip Bruggisser to cut the deficit. Then came the drama. With Nicolaj Henriksen pulled for an extra attacker, Patrick Russell scored at 19:58 of the third period from Alexander True and Mikkel Aagaard to force overtime with two seconds left on the clock. The BCF Arena was on its feet.

Overtime stayed tight, but Norway found the winner to take the extra point and finish ahead of Czechia in the standings.

Goaltenders

Henrik Haukeland made 17 saves on 20 shots for his fifth win of the tournament. Nicolaj Henriksen kept Denmark close with 22 saves on 25 shots before being pulled in the closing seconds of regulation.

Group B finalized

Norway end the group stage on 15 points and second place in Group B. Canada lock up first ahead of their Czechia clash later tonight. Czechia (13) sit third going into the final round, with Slovakia (11) and Sweden's evening match still to decide the fourth and final quarterfinal spot. Denmark take the bonus point and finish on 6 points ahead of Slovenia on the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Coming up

Norway will face the third-place finisher from Group A in the quarterfinals on May 28 at BCF Arena. With Switzerland and Finland locked into the top two of Group A and a four-way scrap behind them, Norway's opponent will not be known until tonight's late games conclude.