Ville Heinola (#41) paced Finland with two goals in a 4-0 victory over Great Britain in Group A action at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Finland pushed its record to a perfect 5-0 at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with a 4-0 victory over newly promoted Great Britain in Zurich on Friday.
"I don't think we gave them much," said Finland's Olli Maatta. "That's a big thing, especially with teams like this. You've got to take charge and pressure them pretty well, playing in their end most of the game. So, a solid game overall."
All signs point to a Switzerland-Finland showdown for first place in Group A on Tuesday. Each of these unbeaten elite nations has one preceding group game left (Switzerland-Hungary on Saturday, Finland-Austria on Monday).
It was a night for defencemen. Ville Heinola scored twice for Finland and Henri Jokiharju had a goal and an assist. Mikko Lehtonen added a single. The Finns owned the puck all night long.
Finnish goalie Joonas Korpisalo got his second win in as many starts. British netminder Matt Robson battled creditably as final shots favoured the Finns 47-9.
"They're a very good team," said British defenceman Nathanael Halbert. "They're probably one of the favorites to win the tournament. The shots kind of tell the story of what the game went like."
The Finns have their sights set on winning their first international crown since the “double gold” triumph of 2022, when they earned their first Olympic gold in Beijing and WM gold in Tampere. Their latest IIHF medal was Olympic bronze in February in Milan.
Winless Great Britain has two more cracks at getting its first points at these Worlds, with Latvia next up on Sunday and Germany on Monday. Avoiding relegation will be a tough battle.
Of facing Latvia, Halbert said: "I think we need more than eight shots for starters. If we play that defensive game, take care of our own zone, and then try and hit them on the counterattack, that's probably going to be our game plan. We're definitely going to have to get some points out of that game to have a chance of staying up."
Great Britain has never scored a goal against Finland in the 21st century. The last three meetings saw Finland win 5-0 (2019), 6-0 (2022), and 8-0 (2024). The last time the British put a puck in Finland’s net was in a 7-5 win at the 1962 Worlds in Colorado Springs.
The first period was relatively similar to Great Britain's previous first period versus host Switzerland. Once again, they wound up trailing 1-0 through 20 minutes, and they were outshot 15-6, instead of 18-3 as versus the Swiss.
Just 58 seconds in, Heinola blew a slap shot from the left faceoff circle over Robson’s glove to open the scoring.
Suomi stuck with its game plan in the second period, patiently wearing the British down and giving them nothing.
Heinola doubled the lead at 8:30, this time going high to the blocker side. It was the 25-year-old blueliner's third goal of these Worlds. A longtime Winnipeg Jets prospect, he has scored one goal in 58 career NHL games.
At 11:51, Lehtonen finished off a nice bit of puck movement involving Mikael Granlund and Aatu Raty for a 3-0 gap. Granlund, serving as an assistant captain, has recorded an assist in both games he has played since joining coach Antti Pennanen's squad from the Anaheim Ducks.
"I'm just happy to be with Team Finland again," said Granlund. "I love to play in these tournaments, and it's been all right. Obviously, it's a quick turnaround. Just flew in a couple days ago, so I'm sure it's gonna get even better as we move on."
Late in the middle frame, Robson stoned Sakari Manninen on a breakaway. British forward Bayley Harewood was shaken up when he rushed in and collided with Korpisalo's left post, but he would carry on. Britain didn't register a shot in the period.
In the third, there was more stolid two-way Finnish excellence. Jokiharju rounded out the scoring with 1:10 left.
The only blemish was failing to capitalize with the man advantage.The Finns entered this game with the tournament’s top-rated power play (7-for-16, 43.75 percent), going up against the second-rated British penalty kill (1 goal allowed on 14 disadvantages, 92.8 percent). Halbert took three minors on the night, two in the final stanza, but his mates weathered the storm.
"I think our power play's been pretty good overall this tournament, special teams in general," said Maatta. "So I don't think you're too worried about it. I think we had some looks. They're good enough players that they're going to figure it out. We rely on them, and we know they're gonna get things done when needed."
"I don't think we gave them much," said Finland's Olli Maatta. "That's a big thing, especially with teams like this. You've got to take charge and pressure them pretty well, playing in their end most of the game. So, a solid game overall."
All signs point to a Switzerland-Finland showdown for first place in Group A on Tuesday. Each of these unbeaten elite nations has one preceding group game left (Switzerland-Hungary on Saturday, Finland-Austria on Monday).
It was a night for defencemen. Ville Heinola scored twice for Finland and Henri Jokiharju had a goal and an assist. Mikko Lehtonen added a single. The Finns owned the puck all night long.
Finnish goalie Joonas Korpisalo got his second win in as many starts. British netminder Matt Robson battled creditably as final shots favoured the Finns 47-9.
"They're a very good team," said British defenceman Nathanael Halbert. "They're probably one of the favorites to win the tournament. The shots kind of tell the story of what the game went like."
The Finns have their sights set on winning their first international crown since the “double gold” triumph of 2022, when they earned their first Olympic gold in Beijing and WM gold in Tampere. Their latest IIHF medal was Olympic bronze in February in Milan.
Winless Great Britain has two more cracks at getting its first points at these Worlds, with Latvia next up on Sunday and Germany on Monday. Avoiding relegation will be a tough battle.
Of facing Latvia, Halbert said: "I think we need more than eight shots for starters. If we play that defensive game, take care of our own zone, and then try and hit them on the counterattack, that's probably going to be our game plan. We're definitely going to have to get some points out of that game to have a chance of staying up."
Great Britain has never scored a goal against Finland in the 21st century. The last three meetings saw Finland win 5-0 (2019), 6-0 (2022), and 8-0 (2024). The last time the British put a puck in Finland’s net was in a 7-5 win at the 1962 Worlds in Colorado Springs.
The first period was relatively similar to Great Britain's previous first period versus host Switzerland. Once again, they wound up trailing 1-0 through 20 minutes, and they were outshot 15-6, instead of 18-3 as versus the Swiss.
Just 58 seconds in, Heinola blew a slap shot from the left faceoff circle over Robson’s glove to open the scoring.
Suomi stuck with its game plan in the second period, patiently wearing the British down and giving them nothing.
Heinola doubled the lead at 8:30, this time going high to the blocker side. It was the 25-year-old blueliner's third goal of these Worlds. A longtime Winnipeg Jets prospect, he has scored one goal in 58 career NHL games.
At 11:51, Lehtonen finished off a nice bit of puck movement involving Mikael Granlund and Aatu Raty for a 3-0 gap. Granlund, serving as an assistant captain, has recorded an assist in both games he has played since joining coach Antti Pennanen's squad from the Anaheim Ducks.
"I'm just happy to be with Team Finland again," said Granlund. "I love to play in these tournaments, and it's been all right. Obviously, it's a quick turnaround. Just flew in a couple days ago, so I'm sure it's gonna get even better as we move on."
Late in the middle frame, Robson stoned Sakari Manninen on a breakaway. British forward Bayley Harewood was shaken up when he rushed in and collided with Korpisalo's left post, but he would carry on. Britain didn't register a shot in the period.
In the third, there was more stolid two-way Finnish excellence. Jokiharju rounded out the scoring with 1:10 left.
The only blemish was failing to capitalize with the man advantage.The Finns entered this game with the tournament’s top-rated power play (7-for-16, 43.75 percent), going up against the second-rated British penalty kill (1 goal allowed on 14 disadvantages, 92.8 percent). Halbert took three minors on the night, two in the final stanza, but his mates weathered the storm.
"I think our power play's been pretty good overall this tournament, special teams in general," said Maatta. "So I don't think you're too worried about it. I think we had some looks. They're good enough players that they're going to figure it out. We rely on them, and we know they're gonna get things done when needed."