Day 10 games

Sweden vs. Finland (4:30 ET) — Sweden won 6-3 against Latvia in the quarterfinal round and has had the look of a team on a mission as it seeks its first gold medal since 2012. The Swedes have outscored opponents 27-11 in five straight wins, rank second in the tournament on the power play (45.0 percent; 9-for-20) and fourth on the penalty kill (72.2 percent; 13-for-18). Six players have two or more goals and 12 have three or more points, including forwards Anton Frondell (five goals; Chicago Blackhawks) and Jack Berglund (three goals; Philadelphia Flyers), and defenseman Alfons Freij (seven assists; Winnipeg Jets), each with seven points. Forwards Ivar Stenberg (two goals, three assists) and Viggo Bjorck (three goals, three assists), each a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, have been solid. Goaltender Love Harenstam (St. Louis Blues) is 4-0 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in four games. “I feel like we’ve been coming together really well; we’re a tight group,” Frondell said. “That’s really important if you want to go all the way.”

Finland advanced to the semis with a thrilling 4-3 overtime triumph against the United States in the quarterfinals. It has been led by defenseman Aron Kiviharju (Minnesota Wild), who has four assists and averages 21:53 in ice time. Forward Heikki Ruohonen (Philadelphia Flyers) has six points (two goals, four assists) and forward Roope Vesterinen (2026 NHL Draft eligible) leads the team with four goals. Finland defeated Sweden 4-3 in overtime in the semifinal round of the 2025 WJC. “We played Sweden last year, so it’s going to be a huge matchup again,” said Finland goalie Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings), who made 28 saves in the win against the U.S. “[Sweden] is such a good team with so many talented players. They’ve had a really good tournament.” Finland last won a gold medal in 2019.

Canada vs. Czechia (8:30 ET) — For the third straight year at World Juniors, Canada and Czechia will meet after the preliminary-round stage with Czechia celebrating quarterfinal-round wins in 2024 (3-2) and 2025 (4-3). Canada did earn a 7-5 win against Czechia in the prelims and will look to duplicate that result, following a 7-1 win against Slovakia in the quarterfinals on Friday. “It was a wide-open hockey game,” Canada coach Dale Hunter said of the Dec. 26 game. “Both coaches didn’t script it that way, but it happens in a game sometimes. We know each other a little bit better now because we played them already. So it’ll be a good game.” Canada has outscored the opposition 32-12 in five straight wins, leads the tournament in power-play percentage (47.0; 8-for-17) and is second in penalty killing percentage (91.6; 11-for-12). Six players have three or more goals, including forwards Brady Martin (Nashville Predators) and Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers), and defenseman Zayne Parekh (Calgary Flames), each tied for the team lead with four goals. Left wing Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 Draft, has nine points (three goals, six assists) and is averaging 16:45 of ice time. Goalie Jack Ivankovic (Predators), the likely starter, is 2-0 with a 0.99 GAA and .952 save percentage in two games for Canada, which last won a gold medal in 2023. “It’s gold medal or nothing and I’m really excited,” Martone said. “We got our hands full. We’re going to have a tough opponent in Czechia but we’re ready for the challenge.”

Czechia has medaled three straight years, winning silver in 2023, and bronze in 2024 and 2025 and seeks gold for the first time since winning back-to-back in 2000 and 2001. The country ranks fourth on the power play (31.6 percent; 6-for-19) and third on the penalty kill (75.0 percent; 12-for-16). Defenseman Adam Jiricek (St. Louis Blues) has scored in four straight games (four goals) and forward Vojtech Cihar (Los Angeles Kings) leads the team with nine points (two goals, seven assists). “I still think we can be more dangerous from the blue line,” Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said. “We have very creative defensemen, they can make plays, but I wish they were shooting more and they were getting the pucks on the net. I think our power play and penalty kill can get better so there’s a lot of room for improvement.”

Day 8 games

Finland 4, United States 3 (OT): Arttu Valila (2026 NHL Draft eligible) scored 2:11 into overtime, and Finland advanced with a 4-3 overtime win against the United States in the quarterfinal round at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

Leo Tuuva (2026 eligible) and Joona Saarelainen (Tampa Bay Lightning) each had a goal and an assist, and Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings) made 28 saves for Finland, which lost 4-3 in overtime to the United States in the gold medal game of the 2025 WJC at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario.

“We have a huge respect for each other. They have so many tough guys out there who are so skillful,” Rimpinen said. “And as I said, this time around, it went our way, so it’s even. I feel for them … home ice and stuff. So they played a really good game and it’s about bounces. If we look at the final last year, it’s about small bounces, and we got that one tonight, so really happy for that.”

Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) had a goal and an assist, and Nick Kempf (Capitals) made 21 saves for the United States.

Ryker Lee (Nashville Predators) scored from the slot to pull the U.S. into a 3-3 tie at 18:27 of the third period with Kempf pulled for an extra attacker.

Hutson, chosen in the second round (No. 43) by the Capitals in the 2024 NHL Draft, missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury after getting hit by the puck in the back of the neck and stretchered off the ice on Dec. 27. He’s the brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson.

“I don’t want to really comment too much on what [the injury] was but it wasn’t good, I can tell you that,” Hutson said. “I rushed myself back but didn’t do enough to help the team win. I don’t have a gold medal around my neck.

“I could have scored a goal in overtime. Could have done plenty of things better.”

The United States had won two straight gold medals at World Juniors.

“That we let our country down,” U.S. forward Cole Eiserman (New York Islanders) said when asked what his emotions were afterward. “We’re on home soil, and they did a great job coming to our games, and we didn’t do it for them, and that’s hardest part.”

Hutson gave the United States a 1-0 lead 35 seconds into the second period on a shot from the top of the left face-off circle.

Heikki Ruohonen (Philadelphia Flyers) tied it 1-1 at 4:46 of the second period on a wrist shot through traffic from low in the left circle off a backhand pass by Max Westergard (Flyers) from the slot.

Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal on a one-timer from the right circle at 10:15 of the second period. Hutson set up his Boston University teammate with a saucer pass from the left circle.

Tuuva made it 2-2 on a shot from outside the right post at 12:43 of the third period, and then assisted on a goal by Saarelainen, who took a pass in the slot and scored on a one-timer at 13:38, for a 3-2 advantage.

“We were this close from playing a perfect game, but that’s sports. It rips your bloody heart out when you’re in a situation like that,” U.S. coach Bob Motzko said. “Give credit to Finland. One thing about Finns, they never change. Down or up, they play the same way, and they got their sticks on a puck and the game changed.”

Hutson has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 10 career games at World Juniors and became the career leader in points by a U.S. defenseman at the tournament, passing Erik Johnson (14 points; 2006-07). He’s also the career leader in assists by a U.S. defenseman at World Juniors, passing Ryan Suter (10 assists; 2003-05).

The United States is 16-4-2-18 with one tie against Finland at World Juniors.

Finland will play Sweden in the semifinals at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

Canada 7, Slovakia 1: Canada scored five goals in the first period to defeat Slovakia at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, advancing to the WJC semifinals for the first time since 2023.

“It’s the start we needed,” said Canada forwardCole Beaudoin (Utah Mammoth), who had a goal and an assist. “I think that was our kind of our game plan, get off to a good start and go from there. And we did exactly that. The guys got the pedal to the ground, and we played our game.”

Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers), Sam O’Reilly (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Michael Misa (San Jose Sharks) each had a goal and an assist, and Cole Reschny (Calgary Flames), Tij Iginla (Mammoth) and Brady Martin (Nashville Predators) also scored. Jack Ivankovic (Nashville Predators) made 21 saves.

Canada will play Czechia in the semifinals at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN). It is the third straight WJC when the teams will have met after the round-robin stage. Czechia won in the quarterfinals in 2024 (3-2) and 2025 (4-3).

“I think ever since that day (the loss to Czechia in 2025 quarterfinals), I look back and I get another chance to play at the World Juniors. It’s gold medal or nothing,” Martone said. “I’m really excited. That group is really excited, and we’ve got our hands full. We’re going to have a tough opponent in Czechia but we’re ready for the challenge.”

Jan Chovan (Los Angeles Kings) scored for Slovakia. Alan Lendak (2026 eligible) made 27 saves in relief of Michal Pradel (Detroit Red Wings), who was removed after allowing three goals on 12 shots during the first period.

“We just kept on rolling,” Martone said. “I think a big thing for us before the game was after we get one, we keep on rolling and kind of try to put the game out of reach, don’t let them hang around. And we did exactly that. We stuck to our game plan, and that’s why we got the win.”

Reschny made it 1-0 at 13:58 when he scored on the rebound of a shot by Keaton Verhoeff (2026 eligible).

“After (the) first goal, we started just looking and just thinking, ‘Oh no, now we’re losing, and now we lost the game.’ We need to focus on our shift, and we didn’t do that in that game,” Chovan said.

Iginla skated down the left side and made it 2-0 at 14:42, and Misa cut through the high slot and scored to push it to 3-0 at 16:11.

Lendak replaced Pradel but allowed a goal on the second shot he faced when O’Reilly knocked in a loose puck in the crease to make it 4-0 at 17:03.

Canada went ahead 5-0 at 19:47 when Martin tapped in a backdoor pass from Gavin McKenna (2026 eligible) for a power-play goal.

“They came out very well. They were skating well, and we jumped on them early. It’s one of the things you like in a first period, that you can set the tone for the rest of the game,” Canada coach Dale Hunter said. “We scored some goals, we had some looks early. The goalie was good, but we kept pushing and we got some goals, and it was a really good first.”

Martone scored off the rush at 9:31 of the second period to make it 6-0, and Beaudoin’s goal off the rebound of an O’Reilly shot extended it to 7-0 at 10:41

Chovan scored from the left face-off circle to make it 7-1 at 16:50.

Czechia 6, Switzerland 2: Adam Jiricek (St. Louis Blues) scored for the fourth straight game, and Czechia advanced to the semifinals with a win at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Jiri Klima (2026 eligible) and Petr Sikora (Washington Capitals) each had a goal and two assists, Jakub Fibigr (Seattle Kraken) had a goal and an assist, and Tomas Galvas (2026 eligible) and Samuel Drancak (2026 eligible) each scored for Czechia. Michal Orsulak made 18 saves.

Leon Muggli (Washington Capitals) and Jamiro Reber (2026 eligible) scored for Switzerland. Christian Kirsch (San Jose Sharks) made 37 saves.

Muggli gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead at 3:47 of the first period when his shot from the right point got through traffic and past Orsulak.

Galvas tied the game 1-1 at 54 seconds of the second period. The defenseman stole the puck from Switzerland forward Paul Mottard (2026 eligible), cut through the middle of the offensive zone and dragged the puck around Kimi Korbler (2026 eligible) before beating Kirsch past his glove.

“Yeah, they had a good play with the rim back. We tried to deny them, but they did a good job too,” Muggli said. “I felt like we should be proud of our [defensive] zone. Should be proud of our tournament in general, but sad in the end.”

Reber put Switzerland ahead 2-1 with a backdoor tap-in for a power-play goal at 6:43.

Czechia went ahead with three goals in a span of 5:04, starting with Drancak when he cut through the slot and scored at 10:28 to tie the game 2-2.

“We knew their defense was very tight. … So we needed to spread them in the [defensive] zone. They blocked a lot of our shots,” Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said. “We talked to the [defensemen], and instead of giving them the blocked shots, (the plan was to) not to put the puck down (behind the net). And on the third goal it happened: Our ‘D’ just put the puck behind the net, forwards won it and we scored from that. We just wanted to make them feel a little uncomfortable, don’t stick to their plan, be close together and spread them around in the zone.”

Jiricek gave Czechia its first lead of the game when he scored from a sharp angle to make it 3-2 at 11:12, after teammate Adam Benak (Minnesota Wild) lost the puck as he skated through the slot.

“Yeah, you can see the strong depth in this team. Because we were losing two times in the game, 1-0 and 2-1, and we still were doing what we are supposed to do, and turned the score to our side,” Jiricek said. “That’s about how strong this team is in the depth.”

Sikora scored on the rebound of a shot by Vojtech Cihar (Los Angeles Kings) to make it 4-2 at 15:32.

Klima made it 5-2 at 10:25 of the third period on a one-timer from the slot set up by Matej Kubiesa (2026 eligible).

Fibigr scored a power-play goal at 17:37 for the 6-2 final.

“I think the Czechs really built the momentum on playing faster. They chip the puck out, and they used the rims,” Switzerland coach Jan Cadieux said. “They played a little bit like [how] Canada played against Finland the other night, where they chipped a lot of pucks out and they got us on the forecheck. We just saw, I think, at the end of the first period, we had a couple times bad puck management. The last three minutes of the first period, we already lost the momentum a little bit. We have one big scoring chance at the beginning of second period, we don’t score, and then they come on down, they score. And you saw the momentum changing. It’s small details, and I think they took over physically in the second period.”

Sweden 6, Latvia 3: Anton Frondell (Chicago Blackhawks) scored two goals for unbeaten Sweden in the quarterfinals at Grand Casino Arena.

Leo Sahlin Wallenius (San Jose Sharks) had a goal and two assists, Alfons Freij (Winnipeg Jets) had two assists, and Love Harenstam (St. Louis Blues) made 13 saves for Sweden.

“We have a lot of good players on the team that like to shoot and have a really high quality in the shots,” Frondell said. “So, we shouldn’t pass too much. We’ve been shooting it and it’s been working out good. So that’s important.”

Kristers Ansons, Martins Klaucans and Olivers Murnieks (all 2026 eligible) scored, and Nils Maurins (2026 eligible) made 32 saves for Latvia, which was outscored 24-8 in four straight regulation defeats following a 2-1 overtime loss to Canada in its tournament opener.

Sweden eliminated Lavia in the quarterfinal round for the third time in five tournaments, winning 2-1 at the 2022 WJC and 3-2 at the 2025 WJC.

“We played Sweden,” said Latvia defenseman Alberts Smits, a projected first-round pick in the 2026 draft. “That’s a very tough team to match but it all started from 0-0 so I don’t know, there’s a lot of emotions going on in my in my body right now and in my mind. So we just had to be better if we wanted to win.”

Frondell gave Sweden a 1-0 lead 10 seconds into the first period on a tip-in from the slot.

Ansons made it 1-1 on a power-play goal at 13:07 into the first on a snap shot from the left face-off circle.

Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers) put Sweden in front 2-1 at 16:15 of the first. Lucas Pettersson (Anaheim Ducks) curled behind the Latvia net and fed Berglund from the left post for the shot from the slot.

Sascha Boumedienne (Winnipeg Jets) pushed it to 3-1 on a shot from the point at 14:05 of the second period, and defenseman Felix Carell (2026 eligible) made it 4-1 on a one-timer from the high slot 1:45 later.

Frondell extended it to 5-1 at 1:58 of the third period. Klaucans scored to pull Latvia within 5-2 at 3:50. Wallenius made it 6-2 at 15:54, before Murnieks (2026 eligible) scored a power-play goal for Latvia at 18:10 for the 6-3 final.

“We need to be humble, calm, not focusing on what may happen if we win out here, but just focus on what we can control, what we can do,” Frondell said.

Germany 8, Denmark 4: David Lewandowski (Edmonton Oilers) had a goal and two assists, and Carlos Handel (Montreal Canadiens) had three assists as Germany earned the chance to play at the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship with a win in the relegation game at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Dustin Willhoft and Lenny Boos, each eligible for the 2026 draft, each had a goal and three assists for Germany, Manuel Schams (2026 eligible) scored two goals, and Simon Seidl (2026 eligible) had a goal and two assists. Maxim Schaefer (Washington Capitals) had a goal and an assist, and Tobias Schwarz (2026 eligible) scored. Linus Vieillard (2026 eligible) made 18 saves.

Mads Kongsbak Klyvo (Florida Panthers) had two goals and an assist for Denmark, which now will play in the 2027 WJC Division I Group A tournament. Oliver Green (2026 eligible) and Anton Linde (2026 eligible) scored, and Oliver Larsen (2026 eligible) had two assists. Anton Emil Wilde Larsen (2026 eligible) made 29 saves.

Norway won the 2026 WJC Division I Group A tournament, which was held Dec. 7-13 in Bled, Slovenia, and will join nine other teams in the 2027 World Juniors, which will be played in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.

NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman, senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale and NHL.com correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report

Day 6 games

Sweden 6, United States 3: Lucas Pettersson (Anaheim Ducks) and Eddie Genborg (Detroit Red Wings) each scored twice, and Sweden gained the top seed in Group A at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

“Amazing win,” Genborg said. “I think we play really good and play as a team for 60 minutes. So we are really nice win.

“I think we played like a team over 60 minutes and that’s the biggest key. To play like a team, and hold it together the whole 60 minutes.”

Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers) had three assists, Viggo Bjorck (2026 NHL Draft eligible) and Liam Danielsson (2026 draft eligible) each had two assists, and Love Harenstram (St. Louis Blues) made 28 saves for Sweden (4-0-0-0), which seeks its first World Juniors gold medal since 2012.

Brodie Ziemer (Buffalo Sabres) had two assists for the United States (3-0-0-1). Brady Knowling (2026 draft eligible) allowed five goals on 28 shots through two periods in his World Juniors debut, and Nicholas Kempf (Washington Capitals) made 14 saves in the third period.

Sweden is 17-1-2-17 with two ties in 39 meetings in the all-time series against the United States. The Swedes also won their first WJC game against the Americans in five matches.

“We started so hot, and we kind of fell apart at moments, undisciplined again tonight,” Ziemer said. “Maybe a couple soft [calls] but still you can’t really have that excuse. And just wasn’t a full 60 minutes from us. I liked our game at times again, like I did the other day, and then we kind of took our foot off the gas and teams like that are gonna capitalize on it.”

Casper Juustovaara (2026 draft eligible) gave Sweden a 1-0 lead at 9:17 of the first period when his pass attempt in the slot deflected into the net off the skate of U.S. defenseman Logan Hensler (Ottawa Senators).

Genborg made it 2-0 with a power-play goal on a snap shot from the left face-off circle at 3:01 into the second period.

Pettersson extended the lead to 3-0 on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle at 6:01.

‘In these games you want to play well,” Pettersson said. “I’m here to score goals, so I’m happy to do that.”

Chase Reid (2026 draft eligible) pulled the United States to within 3-1 with a power-play goal at 8:55.

Pettersson pushed it to 4-1 with a short-handed goal at 12:44, and Genborg made it 5-1 with a power-play goal at 15:15.

“I don’t think anything’s ever really a killer,” Ziemer said of the short-handed goal. “You never want to think that you’re out of the game. Obviously, it hurt a little bit but what are you what are you gonna do? You kind of flush it, and you get back out there and play.”

Will Zellers (Boston Bruins) scored off a rebound for the United States to make it 5-2 at 16:44.

Teddy Stiga (Nashville Predators) made it 5-3 for the United States with a power-play goal on a redirection in the slot at 2:30 of the third.

Ivar Stenberg then scored to give Sweden a 6-3 lead during a 5-on-3 power play at 6:43.

“The energy we came out with and the mindset we came out to play was right there. It was spot on,” U.S. coach Bob Motzko said. “Unforunately the one bounce off our skate (on Sweden’s first goal) and we make a mistake and we’re chasing the game. We got them back a couple times but Sweden capitalized on our mistakes and you’re chasing the game and you can’t do that. We have to clean that up.”

The U.S. was without defenseman Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) and forward Max Plante (Detroit Red Wings), who are each day to day. Hutson was removed from the ice on a stretcher during a 2-1 win against Switzerland on Saturday after being hit in the back of the head by a puck and Plante missed the third period of a 6-5 win against Slovakia on Monday.

Motzko said postgame that there was a “really good chance” that Hutson returns to the lineup against Finland on Friday (6 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

Sweden will face off against Latvia in the quarterfinal round on Friday (2 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

Canada 7, Finland 4: Cole Beaudoin (Utah Mammoth) had two goals and an assist, and Brady Martin (Nashville Predators) scored twice for Canada, which finished undefeated in Group B play at 3M Arena at Mariucci, on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

“It means a lot. Our whole team played our game” Beaudoin said. “Obviously kind of a scrambly first period. But we settled down and played our game.”

Zayne Parekh (Calgary Flames) and Sam O’Reilly (Tampa Bay Lightning) each had a goal and two assists for Canada (3-1-0-0), which finished first in the Group, and Tij Iginla had goal and an assist. Carter George had 28 saves.

Roope Vesterinen (2026 draft eligible) had a goal and an assist for Finland (2-0-1-1), which finished third, behind Czechia (2-1-0-1). Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings) made 25 saves.

Parekh put Canada ahead 1-0 at 1:13 with a shot from the right face-off circle.

Julius Miettinen (Seattle Kraken) tied the game at 3:54 when he stepped past Parekh, took a pass from Matias Vanhanen (2026 draft eligible), and scored under the crossbar from in front.

“We started great, the first and second were great,” Miettinen said. “And then, go to give credit to Canada, they scored on their chances. I think that’s one thing we’ve got to dial in, not giving up that many chances.”

Martin put Canada ahead 2-1 at 4:26. He flipped a pass into the Finland zone, Michael Hage (Montreal Canadiens) skated onto it, slammed on the brakes at the goal line, and centered back to Martin.

Oliver Suvanto (2026 draft eligible) made it 2-2 at 5:40 when he scored off the rebound of a Vesterinen shot.

Martin scored a power-play goal at the front of the net to put Canada ahead 3-2 at 10:40.

Finland tied it 3-3 at 12:59 on a power-play goal by Lasse Boelius (Anaheim Ducks) from the blue line.

“Just a whirlwind of emotions there,” George said of the first period. “For us to score that early and the crowd to get into it and then to give up the lead three more times after that, it was definitely a crazy period.”

Iginla put Canada ahead 4-3 with a power-play goal at 9:35 of the second period.

Beaudoin poked in a loose puck in the crease to put Canada ahead 5-3 at 17:05.

Vesterinen scored from the left side after a Canada defensive-zone turnover to make it 5-4 at 17:40.

Beaudoin stretched to tip an O’Reilly centering pass off the rush to make it 6-4 at 8:20 of the third period.

“They’ve been awesome for us,” George said of the Beaudoin-O’Reilly-Desnoyers line. “That line has been getting us momentum, changing games for us. Today they showed their offensive skill and put the puck in the net for us, and they sealed the win for us. That line was our best line tonight by far.”

Canada will play Slovakia on Friday in the quarterfinal round (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

Switzerland 3, Slovakia 2: Elijah Neuenschwander (Anaheim Ducks) made 20 saves to help Switzerland finish third in the Group A bracket at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

Switzerland (2-0-0-2), which finished eighth at the 2025 WJC, has reached the quarterfinal round for the 10th straight year. The country has medaled once, winning bronze in 1998.

“We’re proud of the effort,” Switzerland captain Leon Muggli (Washington Capitals) said. “The whole group stage was pretty good. We have an unbelievable group here and we showed that on the ice and really battled it out.

“We’ve got a tight group here. The core is the same since we’re young; we know each other, also from different leagues. Off the ice we have a good spirit, and the coaching staff brings a good mentality in practices and you can see that on the ice in the games.”

Luca Radivojevic (2026 NHL Draft eligible) and Adam Nemec (2026 draft eligible) each had a goal and an assist, and Michal Pradel (Detroit Red Wings) made 15 saves for Slovakia (1-0-0-3).

“It was a hard game,” Nemec said. “We know Switzerland is a very good defensive team, but we can’t start at the [beginning of the] third period. We have to start in the first minute when the puck drops, so this can’t happen to us in the quarterfinals.”

Switzerland took advantage of a double-minor penalty against Tobias Tomik for high-sticking at 16:53 of the first period with two power-play goals in a span of 26 seconds.

Loris Wey (2026 draft eligible) gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead at 18:05 on a redirection from the slot, and Mike Aeschlimann (2026 draft eligible) pushed it to 2-0 on a snap shot at the left post at 18:27.

Kevin Haas (2026 eligible) extended the lead to 3-0 at 16:43 of the second period on a rebound from the slot.

Nemec cut it to 3-1 on a shot from the slot that hit the crossbar, rolled off the back of Neuenschwander and over the line at 7:41 of the third period.

Radivojevic scored at 19:50 with Pradel pulled for an extra attacker for the 3-2 final.

Switzerland will face off against Czechia in the quarterfinal round scheduled on Friday (4:30 p.m. ET; TSN).

Czechia 4, Latvia 2: Adam Jiricek scored for the third straight game, and Czechia finished Group B play with a win at 3M Arena at Mariucci, on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

“We could have handled the game better. We could have ended the game sooner than in the very end,” Jiricek said. “In the second period we try to do too much, and we skate around and don’t skate back. … We could have scored like two, three goals in the second period and ended the game. We didn’t do that, and that’s why we played until the very end minute.”

Vaclav Nestrasil had a goal and an assist for Czechia (2-1-0-1), and Tomas Poletin (New York Islanders) and Max Psenicka (Utah Mammoth) also scored. Matyas Marik (2026 draft eligible) made eight saves.

“I didn’t like the way we played,” Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said. ” … It didn’t start good for us, we (gave up) a power play goal, and I thought after that, we picked it up. Then we score a few goals. I think the first period was the one that I liked. Second period was totally out of our system. We thought we would score eight goals, and everybody just played on their own, individually. There was no system. We didn’t play together, and it cost us in the third. We wanted to pick it up, and we just couldn’t, because we didn’t deserve it for the way we played in the second period.”

Kristers Ansons (2026 draft eligible) and Markus Sieradzkis (2026 draft eligible) scored for Latvia (1-0-1-2). Nils Maurins made 25 saves.

Ansons scored a power-play goal on a backdoor pass by Bruno Osmanis (2026 draft eligible) to put Latvia ahead 1-0 at 6:00 of the first period.

Poletin tied it at 10:04 when he knocked in a loose puck in the crease.

Jiricek put Czechia ahead 2-1 at 11:19 with a power-play goal off a one-timer from the left face-off circle.

“He’s one of the leaders,” Augusta said of Jiricek. “He’s been around, this is his third [World Juniors], and he’s a big part of our defense, and offense also.”

Psenicka made it 3-1 at 5:31 of the second period when his shot from the outside of the right circle went off the skate of Latvia defenseman Harijs Cjunskis (2026 draft eligible).

Sieradzkis scored a power-play goal at 6:39 of the third period on a one-timer from the left circle to make it 3-2.

“It’s a tough game, we played back-to-back (6-3 win vs. Denmark on Tuesday),” Latvia coach Artis Abols said.” … We were a step behind, but at the same time, we competed hard. The goalie (Nils Maurins) gave us a chance, the power play was good. And at the end it’s a one-goal game.”

Nestrasil scored an empty-net goal at 18:43 for the 4-2 final.

NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report

Day 3 games

Sweden 4, Switzerland 2: Lucas Pettersson (Anaheim Ducks) scored two goals in the third period for Sweden, which rallied past Switzerland in Group A preliminary-round action at Grand Casino Arena.

Love Harenstam (St. Louis Blues) made 28 saves for Sweden (2-0-0-0).

Leon Muggli (Washington Capitals) had two assists, and Elijah Neuenschwander (Ducks) made 26 saves for Switzerland (0-0-0-2), which lost 2-1 to the United States on Saturday.

Eric Nilson (Ducks) gave Sweden a 1-0 lead just 53 seconds into the first period on a snap shot at the left post.

Beni Waidacher (2026 NHL Draft eligible) tied it 1-1 at 14:27.

Lars Steiner, a C-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary players to watch list, gave Switzerland a 2-1 lead on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle at 18:22 of the second period.

“I think a lot of people don’t expect us to play the way that we played the last two games (against Sweden and USA),” Steiner said on Switzerland’s game. “I think we showed that we can play with the big nations, but we’re still a little step behind. But we showed we can do it and we’ve just got to show it in the last two games.”

Viggo Bjorck, an A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary players to watch list, tied it 2-2 with a snap shot from the high slot 57 seconds into the third period.

Pettersson gave Sweden a 3-2 lead at 6:28 on a snap shot from low in the right face-off circle that deflected off the right arm of Neuenschwander.

Pettersson scored an empty net goal at 19:13 for the 4-2 final.

“It’s been a bit up and down. We have better periods and then less better periods, but we have six points,” Sweden captain Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers) said of his thoughts after two games. “Can’t get more and we have the third period here, (which) is something we have to continue with because I thought it was a really good period. And like I said, a win is a win.”

Sweden will play Germany on Monday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN) before Switzerland faces Germany (2 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

Finland 8, Latvia 0: Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings) made seven saves as Finland won its second straight game in Group B at 3M Arena at Mariucci, on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

“Team played one heck of a game,” Rimpinen said. “I didn’t have a lot to do, maybe seven shots on net or something. But it’s kind of hard to play these kind of games as a goalie, to stay focused when there is nothing happening. So there’s two games that has been tough for me, not a lot of shots (eight saves on 10 shots against Denmark on Friday). But today, I think I did a great job. Of course, I can’t decide how many shots is coming at me. I can just decide how many I stop. So that’s the key.”

Emil Hemming (Dallas Stars) scored two goals for Finland (2-0-0-0). Heikki Ruohonen (Philadelphia Flyers) had a goal and two assists, and Max Westergard (Philadelphia Flyers), Jasper Kuhta (2026 draft eligible), Lasse Boelius (2026 draft eligible) and Joona Saarelainen (Tampa Bay Lightning) each had a goal and an assist.

“What we talked about with Latvia before the game, they defend so very well at the net front in the [offensive] zone, we have to play a tight unit all the time and get speed and get to the net, and guys were very good today the whole 60 minutes,” Finland coach Lauri Mikkola said.

Mikus Vecvanags (Montreal Canadiens) made 33 saves for Latvia (0-0-1-1). They had four shots on goal during the final two periods.

Hemming finished a give and go with Matias Vanhanen (2026 draft eligible) to give Finland a 1-0 lead at 4:11 of the first period.

Kuhta made it 2-0 at 14:19 when his sharp-angle shot went off Vecvanags’ stick and under his pads.

Westergard scored off the rebound of a shot by Niklas Nykyri (2026 draft eligible) to make it 3-0 at 19:16.

Hemming pushed the lead to 4-0 at 1:37 of the second period with a one-timer from the left face-off circle during a 5-on-3 power play.

Saarelainen knocked in a loose puck in the crease to made 5-0 at 14:06.

Roope Vesterinen (2026 draft eligible) made it 6-0 at 2:51 of the third period when he scored on the rebound of a Nykyri shot. Ruohonen cut through the slot and beat Vecvanags from the left side to make it 7-0 at 5:35, and then passed from behind the net to Boelius, who made it 8-0 at 10:31.

“Today I can say, if your car doesn’t have gas, what’s going to happen to your car?” Latvia coach Artis Abols said. “It stays. That’s what happened to us.”

Finland next plays Czechia on Monday (3:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN). Latvia faces Denmark on Tuesday (4:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report