Match Report

Norway Stun Czechia 4-1, Book First Quarterfinal Spot

Hockey Worlds · 2026-05-25

Norway delivered the biggest upset of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on Monday afternoon, beating Czechia 4-1 at BCF Arena in Fribourg and locking up a quarterfinal spot in the process. 6,210 fans saw Petter Thoresen's underdogs leap past Czechia into second place in Group B.

How it unfolded

The Norwegians struck early and often. Havard Ostrem Salsten opened the scoring at 2:59 of the first period with an unassisted finish, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard made it 2-0 at 6:49 after a feed from Petter Vesterheim. Jaroslav Chmelar pulled Czechia back into the game with an unassisted goal at 15:47 to send the teams into the first intermission at 2-1.

The second period was a goaltending duel. Henrik Haukeland and Dominik Pavlat traded zeroes despite plenty of chances either way. Norway carried their one-goal lead into the third.

Then the Norwegians slammed the door. Martin Ronnild restored the two-goal cushion at 8:10 of the third on a feed from Eirik Salsten and Emilio Pettersen. Brandsegg-Nygard sealed his second of the night at 14:17 from Kristian Ostby and Tinus Luc Koblar to make it 4-1 and put the result beyond doubt.

Goaltenders

Henrik Haukeland was the difference once again, stopping 17 of 18 shots for the win in his second straight underdog masterclass after the win over Sweden on Saturday. Dominik Pavlat took the loss with 22 saves on 26 shots.

Quarterfinal clinched

Norway move to 13 points and 4-1-1-1 in the group with one game left, against Denmark on Tuesday. With Sweden topping out at 12 points and Slovakia at a maximum 14, Norway cannot finish lower than fourth in Group B and are locked into the quarterfinals for the first time at a World Championship since 2008.

Coming up

Norway face Denmark in the final group game on May 26 at 12:20 at BCF Arena. Czechia close their group stage with the heavyweight matchup against Canada on Tuesday night at 20:20. The Czech loss opened the door for Slovakia to push for third, with the Slovaks still to face Sweden on Tuesday.