The ice hockey world championship delivered a roller‑coaster finish as Canada survived a 6‑5 overtime victory over Norway in Fribourg. Mark Scheifele capped the night with a hat trick, sealing the win after a frantic sequence that began with Ryan O'Reilly's decisive goal with 1:39 left in regulation.
Overtime drama unfolds
Scheifele's first two goals arrived in the opening period after Norway had surged ahead 2‑0 thanks to strikes from Eskild Bakke Olsen and Johannes Johannesen. The Winnipeg Jets centre, already nursing a fall, responded with a slap shot to level the score at 2‑2 before the period ended.
The second period saw a back‑and‑forth exchange of leads. Norway briefly took control on a power‑play marker from Noah Steen, only for Gabriel Vilardi to answer and restore parity at 3‑3. Dylan Cozens then gave Canada a 31‑second‑in short‑handed lead to start the third period.
Less than two minutes later, Norway's Noah Steen and Tinus Luc Koblar struck in quick succession, flipping the advantage to a 5‑4 lead. With Canada pulling goaltender Cam Talbot for an extra attacker, O'Reilly redirected Macklin Celebrini's shot to force overtime, setting the stage for Scheifele's heroics.
The win propelled Canada to the top of Group B in Fribourg with 11 points, while in Group A in Zurich Finland joined host Switzerland at the summit after a dominant 7‑1 triumph over Latvia. Rudolfs Balcers had opened the scoring for Latvia just 10 seconds into that contest.
Looking ahead, Switzerland will host Britain in Zurich later on Thursday, and Slovakia is scheduled to meet Denmark in Fribourg, promising more high‑stakes matchups as the tournament progresses.