Home comforts proved decisive as all five host nations - Germany, France, Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia - finished top in the opening round of the 2026 IIHF European Cup of Nations.

The inaugural edition of the tournament features 18 European national teams divided into five groups. Created by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the European Cup of Nations aims to turn traditional international breaks into meaningful, competitive matchups between national teams.

The next round of games is set for 8–14 December, with exact dates and group schedules to be announced shortly.

All games from the IIHF European Cup of Nations are available on https://iihf.tv/pages/t56AiktYU


2026 IIHF European Cup of Nations – Group A (Landshut, Germany)
Teams: Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, Austria

Germany claimed their 11th Deutschland Cup title with a 3–0 win over Slovakia in Landshut. Parker Tuomie and 22-year-old Bennet Rossmy scored within 68 seconds midway through the first period. Returning to his native Landshut, Fabio Wagner stretched the lead to 3–0 early in the second. Maximilian Franzreb, one of three netminders used by Germany in the tournament, blocked all 28 shots. 

The dominant performance from Harold Kreis’s team came a day after a devastating 5–2 loss to Austria. Earlier in the tournament, Germany defeated Latvia 4–1, with four different scorers against their upcoming 2026 Olympic opponent. 

The Slovaks, winners of the previous two Deutschland Cups, had to settle for second place, finishing level on six points with Germany. Tournament-leading scorer Matus Sukel began with a hat-trick in a 6–2 win over neighbors Austria and followed it up with a brace in a 4–1 victory against Latvia. 

After two 4–1 losses to Germany and Slovakia, Latvia bounced back to beat Austria in their final game. Deniss Smirnovs scored in all three of Latvia’s games and recorded three points in their 4–2 victory over the Austrians.

Roger Bader’s Austria finished fourth, but they will long remember their 5–2 win in front of a sellout crowd of 4,200. Vinzenz Rohrer led the way with two goals, while Dominic Zwerger scored in his 100th game for the Austrian national team.

2026 IIHF European Cup of Nations – Group B (Epinal, France)
Teams: France, Denmark, Norway, Hungary

In preparation for their 11th Olympic appearance, France secured first place on home ice in Epinal in just two games. The tournament´s leading scorer Jordann Perret led the way with two goals and an assist in a 3–1 win over fellow Olympians Denmark. Third period goals by 40-year-old Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and an empty netter by Aurelien Dair beat Norway 2–0, with 20-year-old Martin Necar posting a shutout in front of 2,516 spectators. With first place already secured, coach Yorick Treille rested key players in a 6–4 loss to Hungary, who notched their first win of the tournament, with Mark Schlenkmann and Gergely Mattyasovszky scoring twice for the Magyars.

Norway finished second under newly appointed coach Sjur Robert Nilsen, rallying to a 3–2 overtime win over Denmark, with late roster addition Patrick Elvsveen scoring the winner. In their opener, 18-year-old Tinus Luc Koblar, a Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick, starred by scoring twice in a 4–2 victory over Hungary. 

Denmark, building on their best-ever fourth-place finish at the Worlds, claimed third place with a 5–1 win over Hungary while preparing for their second Olympic appearance.

2026 IIHF European Cup of Nations – Group C (Sosnowiec, Poland)
Teams: Poland, Italy, Slovenia, and Great Britain

Hosts Poland finished top of Group C, collecting seven points from three games against top-division opponents. Under new coach Pekka Tirkkonen, Poland opened with a 4–2 win over Italy, led by Dominik Pas’s two goals, and later edged Great Britain 1–0 thanks to a Pawel Zygmunt strike. Their only blemish for the Eagles came in a 3–2 overtime loss to Slovenia, with blueliner Jan Cosic netting the winner. 

Italy´s coach Jukka Jalonen, who led the team to promotion last year, continues to fine-tune his squad ahead of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. They rebounded after their opening day loss to beat Great Britain 5–4 (OT) with Rudy Rigoni earning his first start in goal. In their final game, the Italians outshot Slovenia 54–24 en route to a 3–2 victory. Asiago-born Alessandro Segafredo netted the third-period winner after Slovenia had fought back from a two-goal deficit. 

Slovenia opened with a 5–1 victory over Great Britain and finished third, while GB, last spring’s Division IA gold medalist, finished with one point.
 

2026 IIHF European Cup of Nations – Group D (Elektrenai, Lithuania)
Teams: Lithuania, Ukraine, Romania

Lithuania’s rising star Simas Ignatavicius, who turned 18 last month, made an immediate impact in front of the home crowd. The Geneve-Servette prospect, expected to be a pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, played only in the host nation’s opening game against Ukraine and scored the winner as the Lithuanians came from behind to claim a 2–1 victory. The hosts repeated the scoreline against Romania, with Ilja Cetvertak and Ugnius Cizas on target to top Group D. 

Second-placed Ukraine beat Romania 4–1, led by Oleksander Peresunko’s two goals. Romania, back competing at the World Championship Division I Group B for the first time since 2019, struggled offensively, netting just twice in 120 minutes of play.

2026 IIHF European Cup of Nations – Group E (Tallinn, Estonia)
Teams: Estonia, Netherlands, Spain

Three teams set to lock horns at the 2026 IIHF World Championship Division I Group B in Shenzhen, China, converged in Tallinn's Tondiraba Ice Arena. Hosts Estonia came out on top in Group E, winning both games and scoring 16 goals in total. Petri Skriko´s team crushed Spain 8–2, with Erik Potsinok and Daniil Fursa netting two each, and blanked the Netherlands 6–0 after a two-goal outing by Nikita Puzakov and a shutout from Conrad Molder. 

Spain beat the Dutch 4–2, led by Joan Valles’ double, while Olaf-Jan Schöningh and Jay Huisman replied for Doug Mason’s youthful roster.