Slovakia Stay Perfect With 4-1 Win Over Italy

Slovakia made it two wins from two at the 2026 IIHF World Championship with a 4-1 victory over Italy at BCF Arena in Fribourg on Sunday. 3,881 fans saw Vladimir Orszagh's side outshoot Italy 31-24 and pull away after a tight start.

How it unfolded

Marek Hrivik opened the scoring at 13:31 of the first period, finishing from Mislav Rosandic and Filip Mesar to make it 1-0. Viliam Kmec doubled the lead with just 28 seconds remaining in the second period (19:32) from Sebastian Cederle and Martin Fasko-Rudas, sending Slovakia into the third up 2-0.

The third period broke the game open. Kristian Pospisil scored 30 seconds into the period (0:30) from his brother Martin Pospisil and Fasko-Rudas to make it 3-0. Italy's Gabriel Nitz cut the deficit with an unassisted goal at 5:03, but Oliver Okuliar restored the three-goal cushion on the power play at 14:13 from Martin Pospisil and Martin Chromiak for the 4-1 final.

Goaltenders and shots

Adam Gajan earned the win for Slovakia with 23 saves on 24 shots. Jacob Smith took the loss for Italy with 27 saves on 31 shots, pulled in the closing minutes for an extra attacker. Martin Pospisil led all skaters with 0+2.

Coming up

Slovakia move to 6 points after two games, joining Canada atop Group B. Italy drop to 0-2 with a minus-nine goal differential. Slovakia's next game is Tuesday against Slovenia at BCF Arena at 20:20 CET, while Italy face Norway on Tuesday at 16:20 CET.