Sunday marked the final day of group stage action for the men’s ice hockey tournament at Milano Cortina 2026. Switzerland played the Czech Republic. Canada played France. Denmark played Latvia. Switzerland was looking for a bounce-back win. The Czech Republic were looking for back-to-back wins. Canada was looking to go undefeated in the group stage and win Group A. France were looking for any signs of life. Denmark was looking for their first win in their last game of the group stage. Latvia were looking for back-to-back wins. The United States were looking to go undefeated in the group stage and win Group C. Germany were looking for a bounce-back win.
Switzerland played the Czech Republic in Group A action to start the day. Switzerland were in second place in the group with a record of 1-1-0 and 3 points. Switzerland were coming off a loss to Canada. The Czech Republic were in third place in the group with a record of 1-1-0 and 3 points. The Czech Republic were coming off a win over Italy. The Czech Republic were leading the game 1-0 after the first period. Switzerland scored twice in the second period to take the lead. Switzerland was leading 2-1 going into the third period. Switzerland would score in the third period. The Czech Republic would score twice, including late in the game with an extra attacker. The game did go into overtime tied at 3-3. Switzerland scored in overtime to win the game. The final score was 4-3, Switzerland. Both teams were waiting on results to see who they would play next.
Canada played France in the last game of Group A. Canada were in first place in the group with a record of 2-0-0 and 6 points. Canada were coming into the game after a win over Switzerland. Canada had won back-to-back games. France were in last place in the group with a record of 0-2-0 and 0 points. France were coming off back-to-back losses. France’s most recent loss was against the Czech Republic. Canada scored first. France tied the game. Canada had a 3-1 lead after the first period. Canada scored three more goals in the second period. Canada had a 6-1 lead going into the third period. France scored one more in the third period. Canada scored four more in the third period. The final score was 10-1, Canada. The big news out of this game was the fight at the end of the game. Both teams were waiting on other results to see who they would play next.
Denmark took on Latvia in a Group C match. Denmark were in last place in the group with a record of 0-2-0 and 0 points. Denmark were coming off back-to-back losses. Denmark’s most recent loss was against the United States. Latvia were second in the group with a record of 1-1-0. Latvia were coming off a win over Germany. Denmark scored first. Denmark had a 3-1 lead after the first period. Latvia scored the only goal of the second period to bring the lead down to one goal. Denmark was leading 3-2 going into the third period. Denmark scored the only goal of the third period. The final score was 4-2, Denmark. Both teams were waiting on other results to see who they would play next.
The United States took on Germany for the final group stage game of the tournament. The United States were in first place in the group with a record of 2-0-0 and 6 points. The USA were coming off a win over Denmark. The USA had won back-to-back games. Germany were in third place in the group with a record of 1-1-0. They were coming off a loss to Latvia. The United States scored the only goal of the first period. The USA had a 1-0 lead after the first period. The United States scored two more goals in the second period. The USA had a 3-0 lead going into the third period. Germany did score one in the third, but it was too little too late. The United States netted two more in the third. The final score was 5-1, United States. Following this game the first matchups for the knockout stage were set.
Canada won Group A. They were followed by Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and France. Slovakia won Group B. They were followed by Finland, Sweden, and Italy. The United States won Group C. They were followed by Germany, Denmark, and Latvia. Canada, the United States, Slovakia, and Finland would move on to the quarterfinals. Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, France, and Italy would play in the playoff round.
The playoff round was on Monday. Germany played France. Switzerland played Italy. The Czech Republic played Denmark. Sweden played Latvia. It was win or go home for these teams.
Zac Electrifly 
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