Denmark wrote hockey history with a sensational victory over Canada in the quarterfinals of the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Wednesday’s win is surely the greatest upset in the tournament’s history as the hometown heroes dumped Crosby & Co out of the competition.

Two goals in the last three minutes blew the roof off the Jyske Bank Boxen as the host nation turned around a 1-0 deficit to snatch a 2-1 verdict. Nikolaj Ehlers and Nick Olesen got the vital markers to send Denmark to the semifinals for the first time in history. Frederik Dichow produced another memorable performance, stopping 39 of 40 shots to secure the win.



It’s only the second time Denmark has even defeated the Canadians in a competitive game – the previous was a 3-2 preliminary round verdict in 2023. Now, Mikael Gath’s team will play for a medal for the first time as another IIHF Cinderella story unfolds in Hans Christian Andersen’s homeland.

Denmark’s matchwinner Olesen found it hard to take it all in. “I have no words, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “The fans here were cheering for us the whole game and they helped us get the win. It’s crazy.”

With 2:17 on the clock, Ehlers delivered a stunning tying goal. Denmark was playing with six skaters and the Winnipeg Jet got his second crucial marker in as many games with an uncharacteristic blast from the point.

The arena erupted – but that was only the overture. On 59:12, Olesen sent the crowd into ecstasy when he showed incredible composure on the doorstep to force Jordan Binnington to commit before lifting the puck into the net.

“I just saw Ehlers take a shot from the blueline and it went in [to tie the game],” he said of the dramatic fightback. “In the end, somehow, I got the puck in front of the net and scored a goal.

“It was crazy, the crowd was going crazy. It’s probably the biggest game I’ve played in my career, which made it even nicer.”

Canada’s captain Sidney Crosby was dejected as his quest for a second gold medal came to an abrupt and unexpected halt.

“I’m disappointed,” he said. “We got better as the tournament went on. I don’t think tonight was necessarily our best but we still found a way to give ourselves a lead and ... it was a pretty tough environment here, a road game. We got the lead and were in a pretty good spot but it turned pretty quick.”

Through two periods, Denmark kept this stacked Canadian roster at bay. The pre-game favourite had all the dominance it would have expected in the first period, but could not turn it into a breakthrough. Dichow pulled off good stops to deny Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan O’Reilly as that line was prominent throughout the opening frame.

“[Dichow] was our rock all night long,” said Alexander True. “He has been the whole tournament. He gives us a lot of confidence. We wouldn’t even have had a chance if he didn’t play the way he did today.”

For long spells, the Danes had to dig deep and resist Canada’s powerful offence. But two successful penalty kills gave the home crowd something to shout about and, late in the session Binnington got some work to do. Markus Lauridsen tested him with a rare shot before Jared Spurgeon’s stumble invited the lively Morten Poulsen to shoot.

After the intermission Denmark announced its intention to do more than just defend. A flurry of shots in the first minute served notice that Binnington would need to stay alert. Soon, a first home power play arrived, but the Canadians limited Danish chances to a point shot from Phillip Bruggisser.

At the other end, the duel between Dichow and MacKinnon continued. However, it was notable that even when Canada applied its most intense pressure, the Danish defence did a find job of cleaning up on the crease. It was rare to see Dichow face multiple threats at a time. And when a goal seemed inevitable, with Crosby alone at the foot of the circle, the goalie made the blocker save to preserve the stalemate.

Then, sensation! A turnover, Nicklas Jensen released Poulsen and he got clear to beat Binnington. Amid a cauldron of noise in the Jyske Bank Boxen, Jensen may have been the only man to hear the whistle. As Poulsen skated in on goal, his team-mate pounded the ice in frustration knowing that the effort would be ruled out for a hand pass.

Denmark believed, and Ehlers saw his effort deflected to safety via the crossbar as Binnington’s net lived a charmed life. It remained goalless at the second intermission, but although a Canadian win still seemed likely, it no longer felt inevitable.

“Our game plan was just to take the game as far as we can with a tight score,” added Jensen Aabo. “Usually, the good teams get kind of frustrated. I think we got better and better, and we created more and more chances during the game.

“In the third I felt like we were making a good push and they were kind of going with the 1-0 lead. I don’t know if we deserved the win over 60 minutes, but we definitely deserved it at the end.”

The home team came out and dictated the pace at the start of the third. Jensen had an early effort, then Mathais Bau set up Christian Wejse on the doorstep.

But Canada survived that scare and finally broke Dichow’s resistance in the 45th minute. Crosby combined with Travis Konecny to produce a great assist as Travis Sanheim opened the scoring. That looked like it would be enough to settle the outcome. 

“Obviously they played well,” said Canada’s MacKinnon. “They had a good game plan, and they stuck to it. We had a great start. Couldn’t get any on them, and they tilted the ice a bit from there.

“Did we underestimate them? I don’t really think so. We had a great start. Usually when you underestimate a team, you don’t start very well. That’s hockey. Hockey’s a crazy game. They played really well.”

However, Denmark never stopped believing. A home power play came and went, then one last surge produced that late, late twist. The home team celebrated a result for the ages and heads to Stockholm in search of even greater glory.