Linys Trygg had ice in his veins during a penalty shot shootout, scoring twice to give Norway a 5-4 win over Switzerland in the relegation game of the 2025 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship.
After Trygg's second shootout goal, Felix Timraz-Westin shut the door on Switzerland's Lauro Peter and the Norwegian players stormed the ice and celebrated.
"I’m speechless. I just blacked out. It’s the best thing you could ever imagine. I’m so happy," said Trygg of scoring the winner. "It’s such an unbelievable group. We have a great group of guys and we fight for each other and stick together all game and all tournament. I’m so proud of the guys."
The result keeps Norway in the main U18 tournament in 2026 in Slovakia and sends Switzerland down to the Division 1, Group A tournament.
"This was a team win," said Niklas Aaram-Olsen, who led the Norwegian offence with two goals and two assists. "We worked very hard all game and didn’t stop. Hell of a game from us and I’m really happy to stay in the top division."
The game went back and forth, with Norway jumping ahead 2-0 in the first, then holding a 3-1 lead before the Swiss scored three straight to go ahead 4-3. Norway tied it in the third to send the game to the 10-minute overtime, where both teams focused heavily on defence and not allowing the opponent to get a good scoring chance.
Both goalies were equally busy throughout the three periods and 10-minute overtime, with Norway’s Felix Timraz-Westin and Switzerland’s Matia Birchler each making 34 saves on 38 shots.
Norway opened the scoring on a powerplay just under five minutes in. Nice puck movement saw Marius Maattanen pass to Niklas Aaram-Olsen, who then sent a pass to Mikken Eriksen. The forward ripped a wrist shot high over the shoulder of Birchler.
With under five to play in the first, Aaram-Olsen made it 2-0 when he took a pass from Eriksen and drove wide and to the net, sneaking the puck past Birchler.
Switzerland would cut into the lead at 17:44 as Noah Franzina lifted the puck from the slot over a sprawling Timraz-Westin.
Aaram-Olsen, who had four points in the game, got his second goal – once again on a powerplay – early in the second. He took a pass from Birk Hjelmaas, walked in from the top of the circle, and wired a shot high just inside the post.
Switzerland didn’t go away and got one back four minutes later. Lauro Peter fired a puck at the net from the half-wall and it caromed off the skate of Florian Schenk and into the net. The play was reviewed to determine when Schenk kicked the puck in but officials determined it was a good goal.
Schenk and Peter connected once again at 12:04, but this time it was Schenk who got the assist, passing to Peter who wired a shot high above the glove of Timraz-Westin. Just like that, the score was tied 3-3.
Mike Aeschlimann gave Switzerland its first lead of the night early in the third period. The go-ahead strike came with Aeschlimann rimmed the puck around to the back of the Norway net and it was picked up by Clemens Troxler, who sent a pass to Moret at the blueline. The defenceman shot the puck on goal and Aeschlimann smartly skated to the net and tipped in Moret’s shot-pass.
The Swiss had the momentum but that was stopped when Alexander Kionig scored on a point shot that seemed to surprise Birchler and, once again, the game was tied.
Norway was the lowest-scoring team entering the relegation game, with just four goals in its four preliminary-round games.
After Trygg's second shootout goal, Felix Timraz-Westin shut the door on Switzerland's Lauro Peter and the Norwegian players stormed the ice and celebrated.
"I’m speechless. I just blacked out. It’s the best thing you could ever imagine. I’m so happy," said Trygg of scoring the winner. "It’s such an unbelievable group. We have a great group of guys and we fight for each other and stick together all game and all tournament. I’m so proud of the guys."
The result keeps Norway in the main U18 tournament in 2026 in Slovakia and sends Switzerland down to the Division 1, Group A tournament.
"This was a team win," said Niklas Aaram-Olsen, who led the Norwegian offence with two goals and two assists. "We worked very hard all game and didn’t stop. Hell of a game from us and I’m really happy to stay in the top division."
The game went back and forth, with Norway jumping ahead 2-0 in the first, then holding a 3-1 lead before the Swiss scored three straight to go ahead 4-3. Norway tied it in the third to send the game to the 10-minute overtime, where both teams focused heavily on defence and not allowing the opponent to get a good scoring chance.
Both goalies were equally busy throughout the three periods and 10-minute overtime, with Norway’s Felix Timraz-Westin and Switzerland’s Matia Birchler each making 34 saves on 38 shots.
Norway opened the scoring on a powerplay just under five minutes in. Nice puck movement saw Marius Maattanen pass to Niklas Aaram-Olsen, who then sent a pass to Mikken Eriksen. The forward ripped a wrist shot high over the shoulder of Birchler.
With under five to play in the first, Aaram-Olsen made it 2-0 when he took a pass from Eriksen and drove wide and to the net, sneaking the puck past Birchler.
Switzerland would cut into the lead at 17:44 as Noah Franzina lifted the puck from the slot over a sprawling Timraz-Westin.
Aaram-Olsen, who had four points in the game, got his second goal – once again on a powerplay – early in the second. He took a pass from Birk Hjelmaas, walked in from the top of the circle, and wired a shot high just inside the post.
Switzerland didn’t go away and got one back four minutes later. Lauro Peter fired a puck at the net from the half-wall and it caromed off the skate of Florian Schenk and into the net. The play was reviewed to determine when Schenk kicked the puck in but officials determined it was a good goal.
Schenk and Peter connected once again at 12:04, but this time it was Schenk who got the assist, passing to Peter who wired a shot high above the glove of Timraz-Westin. Just like that, the score was tied 3-3.
Mike Aeschlimann gave Switzerland its first lead of the night early in the third period. The go-ahead strike came with Aeschlimann rimmed the puck around to the back of the Norway net and it was picked up by Clemens Troxler, who sent a pass to Moret at the blueline. The defenceman shot the puck on goal and Aeschlimann smartly skated to the net and tipped in Moret’s shot-pass.
The Swiss had the momentum but that was stopped when Alexander Kionig scored on a point shot that seemed to surprise Birchler and, once again, the game was tied.
Norway was the lowest-scoring team entering the relegation game, with just four goals in its four preliminary-round games.
Norway v. Switzerland - 2025 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship
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