Canada's world hockey championship fate took a turn for the worse on Sunday, as the men's national team was defeated 3-2 in overtime by Norway in the bronze medal game. This marks the third consecutive year that Canada has failed to secure a podium finish at the IIHF event.
Henrik Haukeland, goaltender for the Straubing Tigers in the German elite league, was instrumental in Norway's historic victory, making 44 saves to earn his country its first top-division medal at the IIHF world championship. Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Noah Steen scored the game-winning goal 3:32 into overtime, securing the bronze for Norway.
"I don't even know what I feel right now," Steen said via the IIHF. "It's beyond words. I'm so proud of this group and that we've pulled this off together."
Norway's early lead and Canada's comeback
Emilio Pettersen and Stian Solberg scored early to give Norway a 2-0 lead. Canada fought back, with Robert Thomas scoring two goals in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime. However, Norway's resilience paid off in the extra period.
Jet Greaves stopped 21 shots for Canada, who have finished fourth twice and fifth once since winning the 2023 world championship. "You have to give them a lot of credit," Thomas said via the IIHF. "They played hard. They took advantage of our mistakes and we had a lot of chances we didn't score on. They played a really strong game and we didn't play well enough."
Finland wins fifth world title
In the gold medal game, Finland claimed its fifth world championship, defeating Switzerland 1-0 in overtime. Konsta Helenius scored 10:42 into the extra period, while Justus Annunen made 22 saves for the shutout. Leonardo Genoni stopped 27 shots for Switzerland, which earned its third consecutive silver medal.
Switzerland's Roman Josi was named tournament MVP and top defender, Haukeland earned top goaltender honors, and Canada's Macklin Celebrini was recognized as the top forward. The tournament all-star team included Genoni, Josi, Celebrini, Finnish defenseman Henri Jokiharju, and forwards Sven Andrighetto (Switzerland) and Aleksander Barkov (Finland).
