Finland beats Switzerland 1-0 in overtime to win men's ice hockey world championship

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Finland players celebrate with trophy after winning the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship final match against Switzerland, in Zurich, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

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11:41 AM on Sunday, May 31

The Associated Press

ZURICH (AP) — Finland won the ice hockey world championship for the fifth time on Sunday, beating Switzerland 1-0 in overtime.

The Buffalo Sabres' Konsta Helenius scored the gold-winning goal 10:42 into overtime. The 20-year-old Helenius netted from the right circle, beating Switzerland goaltender Leonardo Genoni with his team's 28th shot on goal.

Finland netminder Justus Annunen shut out Switzerland with 22 saves.

Finland also won in 1995, 2011, 2019 and 2022.

It's the first medal for Finland since its previous title four years ago.

Switzerland wasted a two-minute, 5-on-3 advantage that started six seconds before the end of the opening period.

The final was a rematch of the two teams from their last group stage game, which the Swiss won 4-2.

That was the only loss for the Finns, who finished second in their preliminary group behind the Swiss. They went on to eliminate the Czechs 4-1 in the quarterfinals and upset tournament favorite Canada 4-2 in the semifinals.

Finland was led by captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed the entirety of the Florida Panthers’ season because of a major knee injury suffered 20 minutes into his first practice of training camp. The tournament was his first action in competitive games since the Panthers won their second consecutive Stanley Cup last June.

Barkov sparked the Finns with three goals and eight assists from 10 games at the worlds.

Swiss disappointment

After finishing runner-up in the previous two years, host Switzerland hoped for more this time in front of its home crowd in Zurich.

Home fans clapped, chanted and cheered tirelessly throughout the tournament.

Switzerland failed to score a single goal in the three finals.

The Swiss lost to the Czechs 2-0 in 2024, and were defeated by the U.S. 1-0 in overtime last year. They also finished second in 2018 and 2013 when they were defeated by rival Sweden.

Switzerland also finished second back in 1935.

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