Switzerland dominated their world championship semifinal on May 30, overwhelming Norway with a decisive 6-0 victory that secured the host nation’s place in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship final for the third consecutive year.
Norway managed to keep the contest even through most of the opening period, but Christoph Bertschy’s goal with 2:24 left in the first frame opened the floodgates for the Swiss squad.
Energized by enthusiastic support from the home fans, Switzerland exploded for three goals during the middle period as Denis Malgin, Ken Jager and Damien Riat each found the back of the net. Norway appeared to tire during this stretch, taking several costly penalties that helped fuel the Swiss offensive surge.
The decisive second-period scoring barrage effectively ended Norway’s remarkable tournament run, which had seen them reach the semifinals for the first time in 73 years since 1951. Nico Hischier added a power-play tally early in the final period to make it 5-0, and Theo Rochette capped the scoring with 2:26 left on the clock.
Despite the semifinal defeat, Norway still has an opportunity to surpass their previous best tournament finish of fourth place from 1951 when they compete for bronze on Sunday against whichever team loses the other semifinal between Canada and Finland.
Sunday’s championship match at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich will mark Switzerland’s sixth appearance in a world championship final and their third straight, though the nation has yet to capture its first tournament title.
