Germany picked up their second victory of the tournament, defeating Hungary 6-2. Canada remained undefeated, beating Slovenia 3-1, while Sweden defeated the Italians 3-0. Of the five Oilers players at the tournament, four were in action.

Let’s take a look at what went on in Day 8 of the 2026 IIHF World Championship, as well as set up the table for a busy Saturday.

Canada vs. Slovenia

After just barely defeating the Norwegians on Thursday, Canada responded with a 3-1 victory over Slovenia. Midway through the first period, Denton Mateychuk opened the scoring, with Canada taking the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Darnell Nurse picked up his fifth assist in as many games on Dylan Cozens’ goal with just under six to play in the second period. Former Oilers winger Connor Brown picked up an assist on Emmitt Finnie’s goal about seven minutes into the third period, giving the Canadians a 3-0 lead. With 65 seconds left on the clock, Slovenia’s Rožle Bohinc got them on the board, but it was far too little, far too late.

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What a sequence for Team Canada! 🇨🇦 Darnell Nurse’s stick explodes on the shot attempt, but Dylan Cozens jumps on the loose puck and buries it to make it 2–0 over Slovenia! 🏒🔥 #MensWorlds

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3:37 PM · May 22, 2026

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Surprise, surprise, Evan Bouchard led the Canadians in ice time, playing just under 21 minutes of ice time and ending the night with two shots on goal. He was a +1, but was held pointless as he now has a goal and four points in five games, with a +9.

Nurse played the second-most for any Canadian, playing 18 and a half minutes. On top of the assist, he picked up a shot on goal and was an even 0 in terms of +/-. He’s now a +1 with five assists in five games.

Germany vs. Hungary

The other early game saw the Germans beat Hungary 6-2. Midway through the first, Eric Mik opened the scoring for the Germans, then Leon Gawanke made it 2-0 with 25 seconds to play in the first.

In the second period, Lukas Reichel got on the board midway through the second period, with Oilers forward Josh Samanski picking up a helper. Just 39 seconds later, Samuel Dove-McFalls gave the Germans a 4-0 lead.

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Lukas Reichel gives Germany a 3-0 lead! #MensWorlds

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3:40 PM · May 22, 2026

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That was more than enough for the victory, but Gawanke scored his second of the game early in the third. After Hungary’s Tamás Sárpátki got them on the board, Gawanke completed the hat trick, before Hungary scored their second with under three to play.

Samanski’s 19 minutes of ice time were the most among any German forward. That assist also happened to be his third in the five games he’d played so far this tournament, but he finished with an even 0 in terms of +/-. The 24-year-old centre also took 16 draws, winning 10 for a 62.50 faceoff percentage.

Sweden vs. Italy

Mattias Ekholm’s Sweden played Italy in the late game in Group B, defeating the 2026 Olympic hosts by a score of 3-0. It was a pretty quiet game for the Oilers defenceman.

Midway through the first period, Carl Grundström opened the scoring for the Swedes. Then late in the first period one of the top draft-eligible prospects in June, Ivar Stenberg, scored his first of the tournament. Getting an assist on the goal was another top draft prospect, Viggo Björck. Lucas Raymond got the other helper.

Midway through the second, all three players combined for the line’s second goal of the game. Stenberg scored again, Björck picked up the primary apple, and Raymond also got an assist. That was it for the scoring, the Swedes gave up eight of the 12 shots they allowed in the final frame.

Ekholm led all Swedes in ice time, amassing just over 20 minutes. Though he was held pointless, Ekholm fired three shots on goal and finished the evening as a +1. He’s had a strong tournament, as the left-shot defenceman has three goals and four points in Sweden’s five games.

Other notes…

The other game on tap on Friday saw Finland defeat Great Britain by a score of 4-0, as expected. Former Oilers forward Jesse Puljujärvi picked up an assist, giving him three goals and six points so far this tournament. He’s always performed well on the international stage.

Like last weekend, Saturday will feature six games on the docket. It gets started early, as Isaac Howard’s United States takes on Latvia at 4:20 a.m. MT. The other two Oilers in action, Samanski and Ekholm, see their respective games start at 12:20 p.m. MT. Germany plays Austria, Sweden takes on Norway.

As for the other three games, Switzerland plays Hungary at 8:20 a.m. MT in Group A action. Slovenia plays Denmark at 4:20 a.m. MT in Group B’s early game. Also in Group B, Slovakia and Czechia match up, which has implications for Canada. Right now, Canada’s 14 points lead the group, but both Slovakia and Czechia can still win the group if they win out. Canada’s last two games are against both of them.

Canada plays Slovakia Sunday at 12:20 p.m. MT, with Bouchard and Nurse being the lone Oilers players in action that day.