The final qualifying tournaments for the men’s ice hockey tournament for the 2026 Olympic Games continued on Friday. The winners of the three tournaments will join the 12-team field for the Milano Cortina Games.
Here is a recap of the results from Day 2.
Group D
Kazakhstan 2, Austria 1
Dmitri Breus scored less than two minutes into the game and Tamirlan Gaitamirov scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period as Kazakhstan (2-0-0) topped Austria (0-0-2) 2-1.
Artyom Likhotnikov added two assists for Kazakhstan, while Raphael Herburger scored the lone tally for Austria.
Despite Austria out-shooting its opponents 46-22, it was Kazakh netminder Andrey Shutov who made 45 saves to secure the victory. Austrian goalie David Kickert made 20 saves.
Slovakia 7, Hungary 3
Marek Hrivik notched a goal and an assist and was one of seven different goal-scorers as Slovakia (2-0-0) secured a 7-3 victory over Hungary (0-0-2).
Fifteen-year NHL veteran Tomas Tatar scored a goal and Calgary Flames youngster Martin Pospisil notched an assist. Robert Lantosi, Libor Hudacek, Mario Grman, Pavol Regenda and Matus Sukel also scored for Slovakia.
Henrik Nilsson notched one and Istvan Bartalis scored twice for Hungary.
Slovak defenceman and New Jersey Devils prospect Simon Nemec was injured midway through the second period. Team officials said that there were no dislocations or broken bones, but the 20-year-old is still undergoing tests.
Hungarian goalie Adam Vay faced 40 shots and made 37 saves. Slovakia’s Samuel Hlavaj faced 12 shots and made nine saves in the win.
Group E
France 5, Slovenia 1
St. Louis Blues forward Alexandre Texier scored a hat trick as France (2-0-0) topped Slovenia (0-0-2).
Tim Bozon also notched two goals for France. Jan Urbas had the only goal for Slovenia.
Slovenian goaltender Matija Pintaric made 17 saves of the 22 shots he faced, while French goalie Quentin Papillon stopped 18 shots for the win.
Latvia 5, Ukraine 1
Uvis Janis Balinskis notched three assists and Rihards Bukarts and Miks Indrasis each had a goal and an assist as Latvia (2-0-0) topped Ukraine (0-0-2).
Dans Locmelis, Robert Bukarts and Haralds Egle also scored for Latvia. Ukraine’s goal came from forward Daniil Trakht.
Ukrainian goaltenders Bogdan Dyachenko and Eduard Zakharchenko faced 19 shots each, combining to make 33 saves on 38 shots. Lativa’s Kristers Gudlevskis stopped 16 of 17 shots.
Group F
Norway 6, Great Britain 2
Fourty-year-old Patrick Thoresen scored a hat trick and Minnesota Wild’s Mats Zuccarello notched two assists as Norway (2-0-0) beat Great Britain (0-0-2).
Norway’s Emilio Petterson had a goal and two assists in the win. Johannes Johannesen and Ken Andre Olimb also scored for the victors. Josh Waller and Ben Davies scored for Great Britain.
British goaltender Ben Bowns started the game between the pipes but was pulled in favour of Liam Whistle after Bowns allowed four goals on 22 shots. Whistle stopped 11 of the 13 shots he faced.
Norwegian goaltender Jonas Arntzen stopped 21 of 23 shots he faced.
Denmark 3, Japan 2 (OT)
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Lars Eller scored the game-winning goal, with the help of Nikolaj Ehlers, as Denmark (1-1-0-0) edged out Japan (0-0-1-1) in overtime.
Teruto Nakajima opened the scoring halfway through the first period, but Denmark’s Jonas Rondbjerg scored the equalizer just over 30 seconds later. Christian Wejse then scored the go-ahead goal with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first.
Japanese forward Makuru Furuhashi scored the tying goal in the second period.
Yuta Narisawa was outstanding for Japan between the pipes, despite the loss, stopping 36 shots amid an influx of takes from Denmark. At the other end of the ice, Frederik Andersen stopped 16 of 18 shots.