Switzerland's Ken Jager (#17) whoops it up with his teammates after scoring the third goal in a 6-0 semi-final win over Norway at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Zurich.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Saturday's first semi-final brought more joy for Switzerland. Six different players scored as the host nation trounced Norway 6-0 to advance to the gold medal game at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
The fired-up Swiss, who lost the 2024 and 2025 finals, will battle the Canada-Finland semi-final winner on Sunday. Coach Jan Cadieux's team owns the tournament's only perfect 9-0 record. The Swiss have never won Men's Worlds gold and are on the brink of history.
Christoph Bertschy, Denis Malgin, Ken Jager, Damien Riat, Nico Hischier, and Theo Rochette scored for Switzerland.
Reflecting on the past final losses, Swiss veteran Nino Niederreiter said: "Almost every single one of them was extremely tight, either in a shootout or like last year in overtime [1-0 versus the U.S.]. We know how to play a tight-checking game, but we can't sit back. We gotta go get it."
Switzerland outshot Norway 30-20. Legendary goalie Leonardo Genoni won his duel with Norway's Henrik Haukeland. Genoni and Haukeland now share the tournament lead with three shutouts apiece, but Genoni is the all-time tournament leader with 15 career shutouts.
Norway can still win its first medal in IIHF history in Sunday's bronze medal game.
"We have a higher level than we showed today," said Norway's Patrick Elvsveen, "I don't think it can be that hard to get up for tomorrow's game, it's a huge game for us."
Switzerland built this magical home-ice run on a legacy of heartbreak. In addition to 2024 and 2025, it settled for the silver medal in 2013 and 2018. A gold-medal triumph in front of the exuberant red-and-white Swiss crowd would be a game-changer for hockey here.
Sparked by 18-year-old forward Tinus Luc Koblar's six goals, underdog Norway has had a next-level tournament on Swiss ice. The Polar Bears won their first-ever World Championship quarter-final on Thursday, downing Latvia 2-0. Relying on their speed and work ethic, coach Petter Thoresen's troops yearn to surpass Norway's previous best finish (fourth place in 1951).
The first period started off penalty-filled, including an uncharacteristic tripping minor to Swiss captain Roman Josi in the first minute. The Swiss battled through the PK, including a gutsy shot-block by Sven Andrighetto off his skate blade.
Bertschy drew first blood with his third goal at 17:36. The speedy Fribourg-Gotteron attacker won a puck battle behind the net and looped out front to beat Haukeland high on the short side.
Early in the second period, Norway got burned on a Swiss 2-on-1 break. Calvin Thurkauf poked the puck out of the Swiss zone and raced off to feed Malgin, who fooled the sliding Haukeland for a 2-0 lead at 4:23.
Thurkauf and Malgin got buzzing again for shorthanded chances during a mid-game Norwegian power play.
Haukeland kept on battling, but he couldn't prevent Jager from tipping in Sven Jung's centre-point shot at 12:51. The 28-year-old ace from Davos is clicking at the right time. Jager also tallied twice in the 4-2 win over Finland to clinch top spot in Group A.
Praising the ecstatic sellout crowd of 10,000, Nicolas Baechler said: "You can't describe it. It's so amazing to get to play in the rink with this atmosphere. It's insane, and it's just so much fun."
On a 5-on-4 power play, Josi set up Riat in the slot to make it 4-0 at 16:36. The party vibe at Swiss Life Arena was unstoppable now, with ceaseless singing and drum-pounding.
In the third period, Hischier added the fifth Swiss goal from the slot at 4:27. Rochette rounded out the scoring with 2:26 on a set-up by Pius Suter.
Suter replaced power forward Timo Meier, who served a one-game suspension for an illegal hit in the 3-1 quarter-final win over Sweden. Suter slotted back into the lineup alongside Hischier and Attilio Biasca. The versatile 30-year-old St. Louis Blues forward played in three group-stage games and was sidelined after sustaining a minor injury versus Germany. Suter is seeking his first IIHF medal.
The Swiss have only trailed once in Zurich, conceding the first goal against Sweden. Josi, Malgin, Andrighetto, Hischier, and Genoni are among the Swiss mainstays who have inserted themselves into the all-star team conversation. Andrighetto had a pair of assists versus Norway and has a tournament-leading 15 points.
Looking ahead to the bronze battle, Norway's Stian Solberg noted: "“We’re stoked. We’ve never played in a bronze medal game, so we’ll be more excited about it than the other team."
This was Switzerland’s sixth straight win over Norway at the Worlds. The last time Norway defeated Switzerland was in 2016, as Andreas Martinsen scored at 3:23 of overtime in a 4-3 win.
The fired-up Swiss, who lost the 2024 and 2025 finals, will battle the Canada-Finland semi-final winner on Sunday. Coach Jan Cadieux's team owns the tournament's only perfect 9-0 record. The Swiss have never won Men's Worlds gold and are on the brink of history.
Christoph Bertschy, Denis Malgin, Ken Jager, Damien Riat, Nico Hischier, and Theo Rochette scored for Switzerland.
Reflecting on the past final losses, Swiss veteran Nino Niederreiter said: "Almost every single one of them was extremely tight, either in a shootout or like last year in overtime [1-0 versus the U.S.]. We know how to play a tight-checking game, but we can't sit back. We gotta go get it."
Switzerland outshot Norway 30-20. Legendary goalie Leonardo Genoni won his duel with Norway's Henrik Haukeland. Genoni and Haukeland now share the tournament lead with three shutouts apiece, but Genoni is the all-time tournament leader with 15 career shutouts.
Norway can still win its first medal in IIHF history in Sunday's bronze medal game.
"We have a higher level than we showed today," said Norway's Patrick Elvsveen, "I don't think it can be that hard to get up for tomorrow's game, it's a huge game for us."
Switzerland built this magical home-ice run on a legacy of heartbreak. In addition to 2024 and 2025, it settled for the silver medal in 2013 and 2018. A gold-medal triumph in front of the exuberant red-and-white Swiss crowd would be a game-changer for hockey here.
Sparked by 18-year-old forward Tinus Luc Koblar's six goals, underdog Norway has had a next-level tournament on Swiss ice. The Polar Bears won their first-ever World Championship quarter-final on Thursday, downing Latvia 2-0. Relying on their speed and work ethic, coach Petter Thoresen's troops yearn to surpass Norway's previous best finish (fourth place in 1951).
The first period started off penalty-filled, including an uncharacteristic tripping minor to Swiss captain Roman Josi in the first minute. The Swiss battled through the PK, including a gutsy shot-block by Sven Andrighetto off his skate blade.
Bertschy drew first blood with his third goal at 17:36. The speedy Fribourg-Gotteron attacker won a puck battle behind the net and looped out front to beat Haukeland high on the short side.
Early in the second period, Norway got burned on a Swiss 2-on-1 break. Calvin Thurkauf poked the puck out of the Swiss zone and raced off to feed Malgin, who fooled the sliding Haukeland for a 2-0 lead at 4:23.
Thurkauf and Malgin got buzzing again for shorthanded chances during a mid-game Norwegian power play.
Haukeland kept on battling, but he couldn't prevent Jager from tipping in Sven Jung's centre-point shot at 12:51. The 28-year-old ace from Davos is clicking at the right time. Jager also tallied twice in the 4-2 win over Finland to clinch top spot in Group A.
Praising the ecstatic sellout crowd of 10,000, Nicolas Baechler said: "You can't describe it. It's so amazing to get to play in the rink with this atmosphere. It's insane, and it's just so much fun."
On a 5-on-4 power play, Josi set up Riat in the slot to make it 4-0 at 16:36. The party vibe at Swiss Life Arena was unstoppable now, with ceaseless singing and drum-pounding.
In the third period, Hischier added the fifth Swiss goal from the slot at 4:27. Rochette rounded out the scoring with 2:26 on a set-up by Pius Suter.
Suter replaced power forward Timo Meier, who served a one-game suspension for an illegal hit in the 3-1 quarter-final win over Sweden. Suter slotted back into the lineup alongside Hischier and Attilio Biasca. The versatile 30-year-old St. Louis Blues forward played in three group-stage games and was sidelined after sustaining a minor injury versus Germany. Suter is seeking his first IIHF medal.
The Swiss have only trailed once in Zurich, conceding the first goal against Sweden. Josi, Malgin, Andrighetto, Hischier, and Genoni are among the Swiss mainstays who have inserted themselves into the all-star team conversation. Andrighetto had a pair of assists versus Norway and has a tournament-leading 15 points.
Looking ahead to the bronze battle, Norway's Stian Solberg noted: "“We’re stoked. We’ve never played in a bronze medal game, so we’ll be more excited about it than the other team."
This was Switzerland’s sixth straight win over Norway at the Worlds. The last time Norway defeated Switzerland was in 2016, as Andreas Martinsen scored at 3:23 of overtime in a 4-3 win.
Semi-Finals: Switzerland vs Norway - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
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