Switzerland produced a rock-solid performance to beat Norway and return to the top of Group B. The Swiss shrugged off the absence of captain Nico Hischier, out of the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with a muscle injury, to take a 3-0 verdict.

Goals from Sven Andrighetto, Gregory Hofmann and Tyler Moy made it four wins in a row for last year’s silver medallist; the only blot on the record is an overtime loss to defending champion Czechia on opening night.

For Andrighetto, success is a product of teamwork. “We all work together as a unit on the ice,” he said. “For us, the strength is our team play and we’re always working on that. That’s definitely something that we like in our game, and we want to keep improving and be tough to play against.”



Norway, meanwhile, remains two points adrift at the foot of the standings. Yesterday’s stirring fightback from 1-5 to take the USA to overtime took a lot out of Tobias Johansson’s men and they struggled to match the Swiss energy today. Defender Max Krogdahl was left frustrated by a game where his team struggled to create.

“They have good mid-zone structure,” he said. “We lost pucks we’re not supposed to. We’ve got to be more direct with our pucks, get them deep. I think we didn’t do that today. We didn’t start to generate anything.”

In reality, Friday evening’s encounter at the Jyske Bank Boxen rarely hit the heights. After a cautious opening, Switzerland got in front in the ninth minute on yet another goal from Andrighetto.

The Zurich Lion’s virtuoso performance on Thursday brought him four goals in a 5-1 win over Germany. Today’s encore saw him open the scoring against Norway on 8:56. Anyone who watched the previous game could be forgiven for a sense of deja-vu: a strong Swiss power play buzzed around the Norwegian zone before Andrighetto exchanged passes with Dean Kukan and unleashed another laser-guided wrister from the right-hand dot. This one could hardly have fit more snugly into the top corner over Jonas Arntzen’s shoulder. Denis Malgin, who assisted on Thursday’s quartet, also had a helper on the play.

The man himself is enjoying his hot streak. “Obviously, it’s great,” he smiled. “I mean, if the pucks are going in and I get to help the team win hockey games, that’s the biggest thing. So I’m happy I can help the team with that.”

With Hischier out injured, Andrighetto’s rich vein of scoring form has come at just the right time. And the second Swiss goal went to another player who illustrates the value of roster depth. Gregory Hofmann had a couple of assists in the first two games but was scratched when Kevin Fiala arrived. Back on the team tonight as a 13th forward, he potted his first goal in Herning in the 13th minute. Tyler Moy’s feed found him at the near post and his instinctive shot was so quick it beat Arntzen on its way in and out of the net.

Norway was limited to just five shots at Stephane Charlin in the first period and only really gained any traction in the Swiss zone on a power play late in the session. But the penalty kill was solid, and Switzerland added a third in the 29th minute. It went to Moy, who timed his advance perfectly to stay onside as he took Timo Meier’s feed into the Norwegian zone. As the forward approached the net, goalie Arntzen gambled on a backhand shot and stayed on his feet; Moy responded with an early forehand that left his opponent flat-footed to make it 3-0.

Moy is another of the players who will be looking to fill the attacking void left by Hischier’s injury – and he’s not surprised to see his captain staying in Herning even though he cannot play.

“Nico’s a guy that's always trying to give the guys a boost, always looking out for the  guys. He’s a really good character and a great team-mate. It’s no surprise that he’s sticking around to support us in any way he can.

“But it’s a huge loss for us. He’s a captain, a leader, good at both ends of the ice. We had to jumble some lines there, and I thought guys were filling in well. Good for Hoffman to come back into the lineup too and get a goal there. Guys were stepping up today, and that's a good response after losing a guy as important as that.”

Ironically, Norway’s best chance of the night came on a Swiss power play. Noah Steen stole the puck in his own zone and hit the boosters to get a great look at Charlin. However, the Swiss netminder was alert to the danger and shepherded the shot around the corner to safety.

But injuries to defenders Adrian Saxrud-Danielsen and Jonas Nyhus Myhre left Norway short-benched. With the Swiss dominating possession and draining the energy from the remaining Norwegian players, it was tough to generate any attempt at reprising the fightback from the previous game. Instead, the game played out quietly with Switzerland protecting Charlin’s first shut-out at an IIHF World Championship and Norway failing to muster a shot on goal in the third period.