All news
World Championship: Czechs on top of the World
The Czech Republic is celebrating gold on home ice at the 2024 IIHF World Championship. A 2-0 win over Switzerland in the final gave the Czechs the title for the first time since 2010, while the Swiss are still waiting for a maiden championship. Sweden claimed bronze with a 4-2 success against Canada.
World Championship: Sedlak shoots Czechs into final
It was party time in Prague as the Czech Republic halted Sweden’s unbeaten run through the IIHF World Championship. Saturday’s 7-3 victory gives the Czechs a first final since 2010, and guarantees a home-ice medal for the first time since 1992. Tomorrow, the host nation will face Switzerland for the gold after a shoot-out verdict against Canada in the second game. The Canadians will face Sweden for bronze.
World Championship: Czechs advance to last four
Quarter-final day at the 2024 IIHF World Championship saw the Czech Republic, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland advance to the weekend’s decisive games. The semi-final pairings see unbeaten Sweden take on the Czech host, with Canada facing Switzerland in a swift repeat of their Group A match-up, won 3-2 by the Canadians.
World Championship: Latvia misses out, Finland survives scare
The final day of group stage play saw Latvia fall short of a playoff place. A 3-6 loss against Team USA left the Latvians in fifth in Group B. Finland, in danger of missing out for the first time since playoffs were introduced, avoided any drama after Austria blew its chance with defeat against Great Britain. The quarter-finals on Thursday will see two games in Prague: Canada vs Slovakia, and Czech Republic vs USA. In Ostrava, Sweden faces Finland and Switzerland takes on Germany.
World Championship: Kazakhstan stays up; Poland, GB drop
A 3-1 win over Poland was enough to keep Kazakhstan in the top division at the IIHF World Championship. Goals from Nikita Mikhailis, Valery Orekhov and Roman Starchenko secured the verdict in a must-win game to conclude the Kazakhs’ campaign. Poland returns to Division IA, as does Britain after a 2-5 loss to Norway. Sweden clinched first place in Group B with a 3-1 win over France, while Finland moved back to fourth in Group A with victory over Denmark.
World Championship: Latvia stays alive, horror show for Kazakhstan
Latvia’s playoff hopes are still alive after a shoot-out win over Slovakia. Last year’s bronze medallist can continue to dream of more hardware if it can get a win against the USA on Tuesday. The Americans, meanwhile, handed Kazakhstan a 10-1 thrashing. Kazakhstan has one game left and must avoid a regulation time loss against Poland to remain in the top division. In Group A, Norway is in a similar situation after its 1-4 reverse against an Austrian team that still has hopes of a rare QF run. The evening game in Prague saw Canada edge Switzerland to go top of the Group A standings.
World Championship: heavy loss for Latvia, Canada tops Finns
Latvia’s hopes of progress at the 2024 IIHF World Championship took a knock when a record-breaking goal rush saw Sweden romp to a 7-2 win. Elsewhere in Group B, Slovakia beat France, piling up the pressure on the Latvians ahead of their meeting tomorrow. In Group A, the top three all won: Canada outlasted Finland for a 5-3 scoreline, Switzerland scored eight on Denmark and the Czechs eased past Britain.
World Championship: Bad loss for Kazakhstan, Czechs too good for Austria
An 8-2 drubbing against Germany left Kazakhstan looking anxiously at a relegation battle in its World Championship campaign. After an opening win, the Kazakhs have now lost four in a row and will likely need to defeat Poland to guarantee safety. The Poles, meanwhile, lost to team USA on Friday evening. In Group A, the Czechs beat Austria 4-0 to go top of the standings. Denmark edged a 4-3 verdict over Great Britain, which is still seeking its first point.
World Championship: Swedes beat Kazakhstan, Austria stuns Finland
Kazakhstan suffered a 1-3 loss to Sweden, but produced a performance that got the seal of approval from former Barys defenseman Victor Hedman in Ostrava. In the same arena, France fell to a heavy loss against the USA later on Thursday. But the big talking point was Austria’s last-second victory over Finland, with Benjamin Baumgartner giving his country a first ever win over the Finns at a World Championship. In the evening, Canada defeated Norway.
World Championship: Latvia suffers, Swiss roll on
After a promising start to the tournament, Latvia suffered a horror show in Wednesday’s 1-8 loss to Germany. Switzerland remains undefeated following a comfortable 3-0 victory over Great Britain and goes top of Group A ahead of the Czechs, who downed Denmark 7-4. The other Group B ended in a 4-0 win for Slovakia over Poland.
World Championship: Latvia beats Kazakhstan, Austria stuns Canada
Unfancied Austria produced a historic fightback from 1-6 to force overtime against mighty Canada in Prague. Although the defending champion snatched the winner in the extras, avoiding total humiliation, this game will be remembered as one of Austria’s greatest performances. Elsewhere, Latvia beat Kazakhstan 2-0, Stephane Da Costa had two points as France won against Poland, and Norway came out on top in the Scandinavia battle against Denmark.
Kurashev gives Swiss a shoot-out win
The big game on Day four of the World Championship saw the Czech hosts take on undefeated Switzerland. It promised to be tight and it went all the way to a shoot-out before the Swiss edged the verdict. Elsewhere, Slovakia survived a scare to defeat the USA in overtime and there were big wins for Finland and Sweden.
World Championship day 3: Kazakhs suffer, Latvia wins another thriller
Kazakhstan couldn’t build on an opening night win at the IIHF World Championship, slipping to a 2-6 loss against Slovakia. Latvia followed its nervy OT win against Poland with another tight verdict over France, with Kaspars Daugavins again grabbing the OT goal. Elsewhere, there were comfortable victories for Finland, Canada and Sweden, while Switzerland faced a battle against Austria before edging a 6-5 verdict thanks to Nico Hischier’s hat-trick.
World Championship day 2: Kazakhs start with win
Three goals from behind the net saw Kazakhstan open its World Championship campaign with victory over France. Also in Group B, Latvia was dragged all the way to overtime by newly-promoted Poland before escaping with a 5-4 victory. The other newcomer, Great Britain, stunned Canada with the opening goal but fell to a 2-4 loss. Host nation Czechia had to rally from 1-3 to beat Norway, with Roman Cervenka scoring twice. There were comfortable victories for Denmark and the USA.
World Championship day 1: Czechs edge Finland in SO
The opening day of the IIHF World Championship saw victories for Switzerland, Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic. The Czech hosts squeaked a shoot-out verdict over Finland despite a shut-out from former Vityaz and Sibir goalie Harri Sateri through 65 minutes of tense action in Prague.
Latvia stuns Sweden, Canada dethrones the Finns
Latvia reached its first ever World Championship semi-final after a stunning win over Sweden. Two days after Arena Riga partied into the night as the co-host secured a playoff spot in dramatic style, there was even greater jubilation after a 3-1 victory over the Tre Kronor set up a clash with Canada in the final four.
Latvia snatches playoff place, Kazakhstan achieves second-best finish
With 5:04 left on the clock in regulation time, Kaspars Daugavins scored a goal that raised the roof at Arena Riga. The Latvian captain delivered a tying goal for his country in a vital game against Switzerland, earning the point that put the co-hosts into the quarter final. A power play goal in the extras saw Rudolfs Balcers crown a memorable evening beside the Baltic.
Kazakhstan signs off with win, Austria stays in the elite
Two late goals grabbed a 4-3 victory over Slovenia as Kazakhstan signed off at the 2023 World Championship. Monday’s match-up was a dead rubber as far as the competition was concerned, with Slovenia already relegated and Kazakhstan unable to make the playoffs. However, it produced an entertaining game with both teams looking to finish on a high note.
Seventh heaven for Latvia, tough night for Kazakhstan
Latvia’s push for a playoff place continues after a crushing 7-0 victory over Kazakhstan. The win gives the co-host a six-point cushion over fifth-placed Slovakia, but the champagne corks can’t start popping just yet. Slovakia would have the head-to-head advantage in the event of a tie and has winnable games against Slovenia and Norway to come. Thus the Latvians could still need a point against undefeated Switzerland in the final game to book a quarter-final spot.
Kazakhstan suffer against Czechs, Drozg scores twice on Canada
After an impressive opening win over Norway, Kazakhstan came back down to earth in its second game at the 2023 World Championship. A 1-5 loss against the Czech Republic leaves the Kazakhs with two points from two games in Riga, good for fifth place in Group B.
Johansson backstops Sweden to victory; Finns and Latvians lose on home ice
Gagarin Cup winner Lars Johansson, now 35, set an unlikely record for Sweden in a 1-0 victory over Germany at the start of the 2023 IIHF World Championship. This was his first game in a World Championship for the Tre Kronor, and at 35 years, 305 days, the former CSKA man is the oldest Swedish goalie to make a debut in this competition.