The final qualifying tournaments for the men’s ice hockey tournament for the 2026 Olympic Games are underway. 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 1.
Group D
Kazakhstan 5, Hungary 2
KHL veteran Nikita Mikhailis had a hat trick and defenceman Dmitri Breus had a goal and an assist as Kazakhstan (1-0-0) opened the tournament with a win over Hungary (0-1-0).
Maxim Mukhametov also scored for Kazakhstan. Istvan Sofron and Doman Szongoth scored for Hungary.
Hungary vastly outshot Kazakhstan in the loss. Hungary’s Bence Balizs made 13 saves on 18 shots while Kazakhstan’s Andrey Shutov earned the win with 35 saves on 37 shots.
Slovakia 2, Austria 1
Slovakia’s path to defending Olympic bronze began with a win over Austria (0-1-0).
Martin Gernat and Milos Kelemen scored two quick goals early in the second period for Slovakia (1-0-0). Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper scored Austria’s lone goal. Flames forward Martin Pospisil had one assist for Slovakia.
Former QMJHL goaltender Samuel Hlavaj made 29 saves in the win. Austria’s David Kickert had 30 saves in the loss.
Group E
France 7, Ukraine 2
NHL veteran Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was one of seven goal-scorers for France (1-0-0) in a win over Ukraine (0-1-0).
Pierrick Dube had a goal and two assists and defenceman Florian Chakiachili had a goal and assist. Sacha Treille, Charles Bertrand, Stephane da Costa and Jordan Perret also scored for France. Blues forward Alexandre Texier and defenceman Yohann Auvitu each had two assists.
Vitali Lialka and Olexander Peresunko scored for Ukraine.
Quentin Papillon made 25 saves in the win for France. Bogdan Dyachenko started the game for Ukraine and allowed five goals on 26 shots over two periods. Eduard Zakharchenko took over the net in the third and allowed two goals on eight shots.
Latvia 4, Slovenia 2
A pair of former Ottawa Senators players led Latvia (1-0-0) to a win over Slovenia (0-1-0).
Kaspars Daugavins, who appeared in 85 games with the Senators in the early 2010s, had three assists for Latvia. Rudolfs Balcers, who played parts of two seasons with the Senators after being acquired in the Erik Karlsson trade with San Jose, had one of Latvia’s four goals.
Rodrigo Abols had a goal and two assists in the win. Uvis Janis Balinskis and Roberts Bukarts also scored.
Rok Ticar and Luka Maver scored for Slovenia.
Former NHL goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis made 20 saves in the win. Gasper Kroselj made 50 saves in a losing cause for Slovenia.
Group F
Norway 4, Japan 2
Detroit Red Wings first-round pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard scored twice to lead Norway (1-0-0) past Japan (0-1-0).
Ken Andre Olimb and former Oilers winger Patrick Thoresen, 40, also scored for Norway. Yushiroh Hirano and Teruto Nakajima scored for Japan.
Henrik Haukeland made 30 saves in the win for Norway. Yuta Narisawa made 31 saves for Japan.
Denmark 3, Great Britain 1
Denmark (1-0-0) scored twice in the third period to defeat Great Britain (0-1-0).
Pittsburgh Penguins centre Lars Eller had a goal and assist in the win. Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers also scored and former San Jose Sharks winger Joachim Blichfeld had three assists.
Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen made 14 saves in the win. Ben Bowns made 31 saves for Great Britain.