Daily schedule, live scores, group standings — straight from Zurich and Fribourg, May 15–31.

4 · Today's Games Switzerland, 15–31 May Updated: 21:12 UTC, May 20
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Today's Games

Wed 20 May · 16:20 CEST Wed 20 May · 14:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group B
Czechia
3–1
Italy
Venue: BCF Arena, Fribourg
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Wed 20 May · 16:20 CEST Wed 20 May · 14:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group A
Switzerland
9–0
Austria
Venue: Swiss Life Arena, Zurich
Read forensic recap
Wed 20 May · 20:20 CEST Wed 20 May · 18:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group B
Sweden
6–0
Slovenia
Venue: BCF Arena, Fribourg
Read forensic recap

Upcoming Games

Recent Results

Wed 20 May · 20:20 CEST Wed 20 May · 18:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group B
Sweden
6–0
Slovenia
Venue: BCF Arena, Fribourg
Read forensic recap
Wed 20 May · 16:20 CEST Wed 20 May · 14:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group B
Czechia
3–1
Italy
Venue: BCF Arena, Fribourg
Read forensic recap
Wed 20 May · 16:20 CEST Wed 20 May · 14:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group A
Switzerland
9–0
Austria
Venue: Swiss Life Arena, Zurich
Read forensic recap
Tue 19 May · 20:20 CEST Tue 19 May · 18:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group A
Hungary
5–0
Great Britain
Venue: Swiss Life Arena, Zurich
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Tue 19 May · 16:20 CEST Tue 19 May · 14:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group B
Italy
0–4
Norway
Venue: BCF Arena, Fribourg
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Tue 19 May · 16:20 CEST Tue 19 May · 14:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group A
Latvia
1–3
Austria
Venue: Swiss Life Arena, Zurich
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Mon 18 May · 20:20 CEST Mon 18 May · 18:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group B
Czechia
4–3
Sweden
Venue: BCF Arena, Fribourg
Read forensic recap
Mon 18 May · 20:20 CEST Mon 18 May · 18:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group A
Switzerland
6–1
Germany
Venue: Swiss Life Arena, Zurich
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Mon 18 May · 16:20 CEST Mon 18 May · 14:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group B
Canada
5–1
Denmark
Venue: BCF Arena, Fribourg
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Mon 18 May · 16:20 CEST Mon 18 May · 14:20 UTC
FINAL Group Stage · Group A
Finland
6–2
United States
Venue: Swiss Life Arena, Zurich
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Group Standings

Group A
Team GPWOTW OTLL GFGAPts
Switzerland 440 00 224 12
Finland 330 00 134 9
Austria 430 01 1214 9
Hungary 310 02 88 3
United States 310 02 810 3
Latvia 310 02 57 3
Germany 300 03 211 0
Great Britain 300 03 315 0
Group B
Team GPWOTW OTLL GFGAPts
Canada 330 00 164 9
Czechia 430 01 138 9
Sweden 420 02 1811 6
Norway 320 01 92 6
Slovakia 220 00 62 6
Slovenia 310 02 312 3
Denmark 300 03 415 0
Italy 400 04 217 0
Crypto Betting Guide — Hockey Worlds 2026
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Ask Wagie about hockey
Who plays today? Group A standings Final predictions

Quick Answers

When does the 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship start?
May 15, 2026. The tournament runs through May 31, 2026 in Switzerland (Zurich + Fribourg).
Where is the 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship held?
Switzerland. Group A plays at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich; Group B plays at BCF Arena in Fribourg.
How does the tournament work?
16 teams, two groups of 8, round-robin group stage. Top 4 from each group advance to a single-elimination quarter-final → semi-final → bronze + gold final on May 31.
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Hockey Rules Explained — International vs NHL
Offside, icing, power plays, penalties — and why the international game is genuinely different. 5-min read.

Past Champions (1992–2025)

Every gold, silver and bronze since the modern era began.

2025
🥇USA
🥈Switzerland
🥉Sweden
Host: Sweden / Denmark
2024
🥇Czech Republic
🥈Switzerland
🥉Sweden
Host: Czech Republic
2023
🥇Canada
🥈Germany
🥉Latvia
Host: Finland / Latvia
2022
🥇Finland
🥈Canada
🥉Czech Republic
Host: Finland
2021
🥇Canada
🥈Finland
🥉USA
Host: Latvia
2020
Cancelled
COVID-19
2019
🥇Finland
🥈Canada
🥉Russia
Host: Slovakia
2018
🥇Sweden
🥈Switzerland
🥉USA
Host: Denmark
2017
🥇Sweden
🥈Canada
🥉Finland
Host: Germany / France
2016
🥇Canada
🥈Finland
🥉Russia
Host: Russia
2015
🥇Canada
🥈Russia
🥉USA
Host: Czech Republic
2014
🥇Russia
🥈Finland
🥉Sweden
Host: Belarus
2013
🥇Sweden
🥈Switzerland
🥉USA
Host: Sweden / Finland
2012
🥇Russia
🥈Slovakia
🥉Czech Republic
Host: Finland / Sweden
2011
🥇Finland
🥈Sweden
🥉Czech Republic
Host: Slovakia
2010
🥇Czech Republic
🥈Russia
🥉Sweden
Host: Germany
2009
🥇Russia
🥈Canada
🥉USA
Host: Switzerland
2008
🥇Russia
🥈Canada
🥉Finland
Host: Canada
2007
🥇Canada
🥈Finland
🥉Russia
Host: Russia
2006
🥇Sweden
🥈Czech Republic
🥉Finland
Host: Latvia
2005
🥇Czech Republic
🥈Canada
🥉Russia
Host: Austria
2004
🥇Canada
🥈Sweden
🥉USA
Host: Czech Republic
2003
🥇Canada
🥈Sweden
🥉Slovakia
Host: Finland
2002
🥇Slovakia
🥈Russia
🥉Sweden
Host: Sweden
2001
🥇Czech Republic
🥈Finland
🥉Sweden
Host: Germany
2000
🥇Czech Republic
🥈Slovakia
🥉Finland
Host: Russia
1999
🥇Czech Republic
🥈Finland
🥉Sweden
Host: Norway
1998
🥇Sweden
🥈Finland
🥉Czech Republic
Host: Switzerland
1997
🥇Canada
🥈Sweden
🥉Czech Republic
Host: Finland
1996
🥇Czech Republic
🥈Canada
🥉USA
Host: Austria
1995
🥇Finland
🥈Sweden
🥉Canada
Host: Sweden
1994
🥇Canada
🥈Finland
🥉Sweden
Host: Italy
1993
🥇Russia
🥈Sweden
🥉Czech Republic
Host: Germany
1992
🥇Sweden
🥈Finland
🥉Czechoslovakia
Host: Czechoslovakia

Crazy Things You Didn't Know About Hockey

Fast facts for your group chat — researched, source-checked, and shareable. Drop these during Canada vs Switzerland tomorrow night and watch the chat light up.

01

The fastest officially measured slap shot was 110.3 mph

Russian defenseman Denis Kulyash set that mark at the 2011 KHL All-Star Skills Competition — about 175 km/h, faster than most highway speed limits. Skills-comp records like this are unofficial as in-game speeds, but at that velocity a goalie has roughly 0.4 seconds to react.

02

Hockey pucks used to literally explode

Before modern manufacturing and freezing methods, pucks could crack or shatter on impact. Today, pro pucks are frozen to 14°F (−10°C) before games to reduce bouncing. That's why they feel like concrete missiles at 100+ mph.

03

The Stanley Cup has been dropped in a swimming pool

It has also been used as a cereal bowl, dropped off a cliff, taken into a strip club, used as a baptismal font, and left at the side of a Montreal highway. The tradition: every player on the winning team gets the Cup for one day, no rules.

04

Goalies played bare-faced until 1959

Montreal's Jacques Plante took a puck to the face mid-game in November 1959, came back out wearing a fiberglass mask, and won 11 of the next 12. He was mocked by his own coach. Two seasons later, every NHL goalie was wearing one.

05

European ice has traditionally been wider than NHL ice

NHL rinks are 200×85 feet. Traditional European and Worlds rinks were 200×98–100 feet — up to 15 feet wider — meaning more open ice, more puck movement, and faster transitions. The international governing body has since allowed NHL-size surfaces too, so modern Worlds venues vary, but the "European ice is bigger" reputation stuck for a reason.

06

An NHL player skates ~6 km per game

Average 5–7 km of skating across 60 minutes of game time, with shifts lasting 30–80 seconds at near-max effort. The recovery ratio is brutal — about 1:3 work-to-rest. That's why benches rotate every minute, not every five.

07

A pro slap shot travels faster than a baseball fastball

The average pro slap shot is 90–100 mph; top NHL shooters routinely break 105 mph. Major league baseball fastballs average ~94 mph and only the elite touch 100+. So that puck flying at the goalie's mask is moving faster than almost every pitch you've ever seen on TV — and the goalie is 30 feet closer than a batter is to the mound.

08

Detroit fans throw dead octopuses on the ice

The tradition started in 1952 when the Stanley Cup playoffs were two best-of-seven rounds — eight wins to lift the Cup. Two Detroit fish-market owners threw an octopus (8 tentacles, 8 wins). It stuck. Modern playoffs need 16 wins now, but the octopus stays.

09

The first indoor hockey game was March 3, 1875 in Montreal

Played at Victoria Skating Rink with a wooden puck (rubber wasn't standardized yet). The Montreal Gazette wrote that "a disgraceful sight took place" after the match because spectators were upset their skating session got cancelled. Even in 1875, hockey was already controversial.

10

"Hat trick" came from cricket, not hockey

In 1858, an English cricketer took three wickets in three balls. He was awarded a hat. A century later, a Toronto hatter named Sammy Taft started giving free hats to NHL players who scored three goals. The term stuck — and so did the fan tradition of throwing hats on the ice.

11

A regulation puck weighs exactly 5.5–6 oz (156–170 g)

Made of vulcanized rubber, 3 inches across, 1 inch thick. Officials cycle through dozens of pucks per game because once they warm up they bounce — there's a freezer behind the penalty box, and the puck you're watching gets swapped out every few minutes.

12

The longest NHL game ever lasted 176 minutes

March 24, 1936 — Detroit Red Wings vs Montreal Maroons, Stanley Cup semi-final. Six overtimes. Mud Bruneteau finally scored at 16:30 of the sixth OT. That's nearly three full NBA games of continuous hockey, with no commercial breaks and 1930s pad technology.

13

The Zamboni was invented by accident in California

Frank Zamboni ran an ice rink in Paramount, California — yes, California — and got tired of his crew taking 90 minutes to resurface the ice between sessions. He built the first ice resurfacer in 1949 out of a Jeep chassis. Today the company still makes them in the same town.

14

Every modern NHL puck has a tracking chip inside

Since 2021, every puck used in NHL games contains an embedded sensor that broadcasts location data 200 times per second. Players wear chips in their shoulder pads too. That's how broadcasts now show real-time shot speed, skating distance, and zone time — it's all measured automatically.

15

Ovechkin broke Gretzky's "untouchable" goal record in 2025

Wayne Gretzky's 894 NHL goals stood for 31 years and was called "unbreakable" for most of that time. Alex Ovechkin passed it on April 6, 2025, at age 39 — finishing the season at 897. He's still playing. The new "untouchable" number is whatever he ends up at.

16

Players lose 5–8 pounds of water per game

Despite playing on ice, NHL players sweat off 2–4 kg every game from the sheer work rate — equivalent to running a half-marathon at max heart rate. Most drink 2+ liters of electrolytes mid-game just to keep up. That's why benches always have rows of water bottles labeled by jersey number.

17

The Stanley Cup has every winning player's name engraved on it

4,000+ names since 1893. The Cup has five removable bands — when the bottom band fills up (~13 years), the oldest one is retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and a new blank band is added. Mis-spellings get crossed out, not replaced. There are dozens.

18

The coldest outdoor NHL game ever felt like −22°F with wind chill

2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton — Canadiens vs Oilers, outdoors at Commonwealth Stadium. Game-time air temperature was around −18°F (−28°C) with wind chill pushing it close to −22°F (−30°C). 57,000 fans bundled in parkas. Players reported water bottles freezing mid-game and the puck was so hard it barely bounced.

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