Canada beats Sweden 5-3

Canada opened the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with a 5-3 win over Sweden on Friday in Fribourg, Switzerland, according to Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation. John Tavares and Ryan O'Reilly scored in the first period, and Canada added third-period goals from Connor Brown and Dylan Cozens after Sweden erased an early two-goal deficit. (hockeycanada.ca) The result gave Canada three points in Group B on the opening day of the tournament, which runs from May 15 to May 31 in Zurich and Fribourg. Sweden finished without a point despite scoring three times in the second period. (iihf.com) ### How did Canada build the lead, and how did Sweden get back into the game? John Tavares opened the scoring 2:21 into the first period, with assists from Darnell Nurse and Robert Thomas, Hockey Canada’s game summary showed. Ryan O'Reilly made it 2-0 at 16:00 of the first, with Gabriel Vilardi and Morgan Rielly assisting. Sweden scored three times in the second period to turn the game. Jacob Larsson cut the deficit to 2-1 at 8:11, Lucas Raymond tied it on a power play at 11:04, and Mattias Ekholm put Sweden level again after Dylan Holloway had briefly restored Canada’s lead at 14:16. (hockeycanada.ca) The teams entered the third period tied 3-3. ### Which goal decided it? Connor Brown scored at 3:21 of the third period to put Canada ahead 4-3, with Porter Martone and Fraser Minten credited with the assists. TSN described Brown’s goal as the winner in its match report. (hockeycanada.ca) Dylan Cozens added Canada’s fifth goal at 12:59 of the third, again with Martone involved and Nurse recording his second assist of the game. Canada finished with 26 shots to Sweden’s 25, while goaltender Jet Greaves made 22 saves for Canada and Magnus Hellberg stopped 21 shots for Sweden, according to Hockey Canada. (hockeycanada.ca) ### Who filled the scoresheet beyond the goal scorers? Darnell Nurse had two assists for Canada, and Fraser Minten and Porter Martone also posted two assists each, Hockey Canada’s statistics showed. Robert Thomas, Gabriel Vilardi, Morgan Rielly and Dylan DeMelo each had one assist. (hockeycanada.ca) Jack Berglund recorded two assists for Sweden. Raymond’s goal came on one of Sweden’s three power plays, while Canada went 0-for-3 with the man advantage. Canada took six penalty minutes and Sweden took 12, according to the official game summary. (hockeycanada.ca) ### Where does the result leave Group B after opening day? The IIHF standings listed Canada second in Group B after Friday’s games, behind Czechia on goal difference. Canada’s 5-3 win gave it three points, while Sweden sat third with zero points after one game. Denmark also opened with a loss, and Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia and Italy had not yet played at the time of the standings update. (hockeycanada.ca) The IIHF tournament page says Group B games are being played in Fribourg, while Group A games are in Zurich. The 16-team championship is scheduled to conclude with the medal games on May 31. ### What comes next for Canada and Sweden? (hockeycanada.ca) Canada is scheduled to play Italy on May 16, according to the IIHF schedule. Sweden’s next game is against Denmark on May 17. Group B play continues for Canada with games against Denmark on May 18, Norway on May 21, Slovenia on May 22, Slovakia on May 24 and Czechia on May 26, the IIHF schedule showed. The top teams then advance to the quarterfinals on May 28. (iihf.com)