Slovenia Stun Czechia 3-2 in Overtime Thriller

Slovenia delivered the biggest upset of the 2026 IIHF World Championship so far, beating Czechia 3-2 in overtime at BCF Arena in Fribourg on Saturday night. Marcel Mahkovec's goal 1:14 into the extra session gave the underdogs two points and Czechia just one. 5,528 fans saw Slovenia weather a Czech onslaught that produced 35 shots to their 17.

How it unfolded

Miha Torok opened the scoring on the power play at 9:49 of the first period from Jan Drozg and Robert Sabolic to give Slovenia a surprise 1-0 lead. The Czechs answered in the second: Martin Kaut tied it at 4:44 from Matyas Melovsky, and Lukas Sedlak made it 2-1 at 17:14 from Michal Kempny and Jan Mandat. Heading to the third, Czechia held the lead despite Slovenia's stubborn defending.

Anze Kuralt tied the game at 2-2 at 8:28 of the third period, finishing from Jan Golicic and Rok Ticar. Regulation ended deadlocked. In overtime, Mahkovec settled it just 74 seconds in, finishing a Ticar feed for the 3-2 winner.

Goaltenders and shots

Lukas Horak was the difference-maker for Slovenia, stopping 33 of 35 shots to earn the win. Dominik Pavlat made 14 saves on 17 shots for the Czechs in a losing effort. Slovenia's heavy underdog status made the result one of the early stories of the tournament.

Coming up

Slovenia have two points from their opening game. Czechia drop to 4 points (1 regulation win, 1 overtime loss) but still sit second in Group B. Both teams return to action Monday: Czechia play Sweden at 20:20 CET, while Slovenia face Norway at 20:20 CET.