Swiss dominate Austria to move on

No fuss, no worries. Sparked by three first-period goals, Switzerland downed Austria 6-0 in Thursday’s early quarter-final at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning. Playing dedicated two-way hockey, the Swiss outshot their underdog neighbours 40-13, and the result was never in doubt. 

Kevin Fiala, the 2024 tournament MVP, and Ken Jager both stepped up with a goal and an assist. Christoph Bertschy, Timo Meier, Sandro Schmid, and Simon Knak also scored for Switzerland. Captain Andrea Glauser, Nino Niederreiter, and Tyler Moy chipped in two assists apiece. The dangerous Swiss power play clicked twice.

Veteran Swiss goalie Leonardo Genoni needed just 13 saves to record his tournament-leading third shutout. Meanwhile, his opposite number David Kickert was under siege with little help from his teammates.

Advancing to Saturday’s semi-finals in Stockholm without being seriously challenged could prove to be a positive or negative for Switzerland. But the main thing is getting the result.

The Swiss are hungry to improve on last year’s silver medal, as they fell 2-0 to the host Czechs in the final in Prague. In the modern era, they also captured silver in 2013 and 2018. At the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Switzerland has a chance to make consecutive gold medal games for the first time ever.

Switzerland has enjoyed a balanced attack in Herning. Every skater except Bertschy had at least one point through the first seven games. Fischer engaged in some line juggling for this quarter-final, inserting the prolific newcomer Moy on the third line with Bertschy in search of more production.

The Swiss controlled the game from puck drop onward. At 6:38, Bertschy broke his hex when he rushed in to accept a neat back pass from Glauser and beat Kickert from the slot for a 1-0 lead.

The Austrians didn’t register a shot for more than eight minutes in. But when it came, it was an excellent chance from the slot for Marco Kasper, and Genoni had to be alert to say no.

After Lukas Haudum tripped up Bertschy along the side boards, the Swiss power play kept the momentum going. Kickert sharply denied Sven Andrighetto by his left post, but relentless pressure and puck movement spawned Meier’s third goal of the tournament on a quick release from the right faceoff circle at 11:03.

When Jager swooped unimpeded into the Austrian zone, taking a Niederreiter pass inside the blue line and scoring with ease at 14:17, Austrian coach Roger Bader called his timeout to…