Jokiharju, Korpisalo Advance to Worlds Gold Medal Game, Minten to Play For Bronze
The 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship semifinals took place on Saturday and featured four teams- Switzerland, Finland, Canada, and Norway.
All four teams punched their tickets to the semifinals after finishing in the top four of their groups in the preliminary round and picking up wins in the quarterfinals.
In the first round of the playoffs on Thursday, Finland defeated Czechia 4-1, followed by Canada shutting out the United States 4-0, Switzerland gaining a 3-1 win over Sweden, and Norway earning a win over Latvia 2-0.
The first game of the semifinals was Team Switzerland and Team Norway. Switzerland defeated Norway 6-0 to make it to the gold medal game on Sunday afternoon while Norway cemented its spot in the bronze medal game on Sunday morning.
In the second game of the semifinals, Team Finland beat Team Canada 4-2. Two Bruins skated in the contest, but did not record a stat. Forward Fraser Minten, who plays for Canada, was on the ice for 10:13 and defenseman Henri Jokiharju, who is on Finland, played for 19:44.
Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo is also on Team Finland, but did not play in the team’s semifinal victory.
There will be a new champion this year after Team USA was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
In 2025, the United States won the gold after beating Switzerland 1-0 in overtime. The golden goal came from forward Tage Thompson (Buffalo Sabres) at the 2:02 mark of the extra frame.
The bronze medal game between Team Norway and Team Canada will be at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday and the gold medal game between Team Switzerland and Team Finland will be at 2:20 p.m.
Currently, the final team rankings from fifth to 16th have been cemented. The top four teams will be added after the final games tomorrow.
Czechia finished in fifth place, followed by Latvia in sixth, Sweden in seventh, United States in eighth, Slovakia in ninth, Germany in 10th, Austria in 11th, Denmark in 12th, Slovenia in 13th, Hungary in 14th, Italy in 15th, and Great Britain in 16th.
The loser of the bronze medal game will finish the tournament in fourth place while the loser of the gold medal game will take the silver medal.
Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram for the latest Boston Bruins news.
Kim Rankin is one of the lead writers for Boston Bruins on SI and Boston College On SI. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama. she joined Alabama Crimson Tide On SI in February 2024 covering baseball, softball, football, men’s basketball, and more for BamaCentral, but has also contributed to Missouri Tigers On SI. She previously worked as the brand manager at Tide 100.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She has covered a wide variety of events including SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals, and bowl games.