<p>The final day of round-robin match-ups at this year’s IIHF World Championship has arrived. With six games on the schedule, plenty was still up in the air with quarterfinal berths on the line. Fans were also treated to several Flames in action, including a marquee showdown between Canada and Sweden.</p>
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<p data-start="163" data-end="499">Here’s how Day 12 unfolded:</p>
<h2 data-start="506" data-end="537">🇱🇻 Latvia vs 🇦🇹 Austria</h2>
<p data-start="539" data-end="701">The day kicked off with a massive match-up that had a direct impact on the standings. The winner would advance to the quarterfinals; the loser would be eliminated.</p>
<p data-start="703" data-end="1027">The opening goal came in unorthodox fashion. At the tail end of a Latvian power play, a point shot was blocked by an Austrian penalty killer and bounced out of the zone directly to Dominic Zwerger, who had just exited the penalty box. Zwerger made no mistake on the breakaway, beating the Latvian goalie to make it 1-0.</p>
<p data-start="1029" data-end="1334">Things didn’t improve for Latvia in the second. A power-play marker followed by a poor turnover allowed Vinzenz Rohrer to break in alone and extend the lead to 3-0. Latvia’s leading scorer, Eduards Tralmak, gave his team a glimmer of hope late in the frame with a goal to cut the deficit to two.</p>
<p data-start="1336" data-end="1456">But in the third, Austria took over. Three unanswered goals secured a 6-1 victory and a place in the quarterfinals.</p>
<h2 data-start="1463" data-end="1502">🇨🇭 Switzerland vs 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan</h2>
<p data-start="1504" data-end="1603">In another game with major implications, Kazakhstan needed just one point to avoid relegation.</p>
<p data-start="1605" data-end="1900">While Switzerland has been dominant throughout the tournament, Kazakhstan came out determined. Arkadiy Shestakov opened the scoring in the first, burying a rebound. Goalie Maxim Pavlenko was outstanding, made 35 saves in this game, including a spectacular cross-crease stick stop to preserve the lead.</p>
<p data-start="1902" data-end="2014">Kevin Fiala finally broke through late in the second, redirecting a puck off his skate to tie the game 1-1.</p>
<p data-start="2016" data-end="2317">In the third, Sven Andrighetto scored his seventh of the tournament to give Switzerland the lead. Despite relentless pressure, Kazakhstan couldn’t find the equalizer. Andres Ambühl added insurance before an empty-netter sealed Kazakhstan’s fate, with a 3-1 final score. They’ve been relegated from the top division.</p>
<p data-start="2319" data-end="2411">Switzerland sat at the top Group B, pending the result of the USA vs Czechia match-up.</p>
<h2 data-start="2418" data-end="2451">🇫🇮 Finland vs 🇸🇰 Slovakia</h2>
<p data-start="2453" data-end="2606">The stakes weren’t quite as high in this one. Slovakia had already been eliminated from playoff contention, while Finland had secured its spot.</p>
<p data-start="2608" data-end="2807">It was a low-scoring affair. Finland scored in each of the first two periods to take a 2-0 lead. Slovakia cut the lead with a late power-play goal, but that’s as close as they’d get. Finland won 2-1.</p>
<p data-start="2809" data-end="3124"><a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/28/flames-prospect-sam-honzek-will-represent-slovakia-at-the-iihf-world-championship/">Sam Honzek was a scratch</a>, likely to give others an opportunity to play in the tournament. Overall, it wasn’t the tournament Honzek hoped for: a goal, an assist, and a –2 rating. He was often limited to the lowest minutes on the team and took a few penalties, but still managed to contribute on a Slovak squad that struggled to score. It leaves you to wonder if Honzek received a proper opportunity, if the results could have been different.</p>
<p data-start="3126" data-end="3223">With the tournament over for Slovakia, Honzek now shifts focus to a hopefully productive summer as he prepares for Flames training camp this fall.</p>
<h2 data-start="3230" data-end="3258">🇺🇸 USA vs 🇨🇿 Czechia</h2>
<p data-start="3260" data-end="3490">While both teams had already qualified for the quarterfinals, this game would determine final seeding. A Czech win would clinch top spot in Group B, while a U.S. win would move them into second and drop Czechia to third.</p>
<p data-start="3492" data-end="3664">USA dominated early, out-shooting Czechia 23-6 in the opening frame. Only Josh Doan managed to solve Karel Vejmelka, burying a rebound to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead.</p>
<p data-start="3666" data-end="3910">Despite being out-shot, Czechia struck back in the second. David Pastrnak scored on a breakaway, beating Jeremy Swayman glove side. Martin Nečas followed up with a one-timer off a no-look pass from Pastrnak to give the Czechs the lead.</p>
<p data-start="3912" data-end="4116">Penalties hurt Czechia in the third. Frank Nazar scored twice on early power plays to tie and then retake the lead. Logan Cooley added another late, and an empty-netter sealed a 5-2 American victory.</p>
<p data-start="4118" data-end="4228">USA finished second in Group B, Czechia third, and Switzerland officially claimed the top spot.</p>
<p data-start="4230" data-end="4545"><a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/29/dan-vladar-effective-complement-to-dustin-wolf-calgary-flames-2024-25/">Dan Vladar</a> got the night off after starting the first half of the back-to-back yesterday. Vejmelka appears to be the favourite to start in the quarterfinals, though Vladar has arguably had the better tournament. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/29/flames-forward-adam-klapka-to-represent-czechia-at-iihf-world-championship/">Adam Klapka</a> took a minor penalty in the game and saw his ice time cut, with Czechia leaning on top forwards to try and win this one. It&#8217;ll be interesting to see how both Vladar and Klapka are used in the quarterfinals and potentially beyond.</p>
<h2 data-start="4552" data-end="4584">🇩🇪 Germany vs 🇩🇰 Denmark</h2>
<p data-start="4586" data-end="4661">Credit to the schedule-makers. They nailed it as this was another win-or-go-home scenario on the final day.</p>
<p data-start="4663" data-end="4872">Denmark got a boost with the addition of Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers. Despite dominating the first period, Denmark couldn’t beat Philipp Grubauer, who made 14 saves to keep things scoreless.</p>
<p data-start="4874" data-end="5030">Germany flipped the script in the second. Korbinian Geibel’s point shot took a deflection and found the back of the net to make it 1-0 heading to the third.</p>
<p data-start="5032" data-end="5155">That’s when Ehlers made his presence felt, chasing down a dumped-in puck and roofing it over Grubauer to tie the game.</p>
<p data-start="5157" data-end="5467">Overtime solved nothing, so the game went to a shootout. Nick Olesen and Joachim Blichfeld scored on Denmark’s first two attempts. After four straight misses, Dominic Kahun needed to score to extend it, but Frederik Dichow made the low blocker save to secure Denmark’s spot in the quarterfinals via a 2-1 win.</p>
<p data-start="5469" data-end="5564">Germany’s tournament ends in disappointment after a strong start with three straight wins.</p>
<h2 data-start="5571" data-end="5601">🇨🇦 Canada vs 🇸🇪 Sweden</h2>
<p data-start="5603" data-end="5694">A thrilling game between two tournament heavyweights, with top spot in Group A on the line.</p>
<p data-start="5696" data-end="5934">Travis Sanheim opened the scoring just 18 seconds in. Former Flame, Elias Lindholm responded with a short-handed goal, beating Jordan Binnington five-hole. Tyson Foerster and Ryan O’Reilly added goals to give Canada a 3-1 lead after a wild first period to get this game going.</p>
<p data-start="5936" data-end="6091">Sweden clawed back with an early second-period goal, but Macklin Celebrini answered with a beautiful goal to restore the two-goal cushion.</p>
<p data-start="6093" data-end="6357">In the third, Nathan MacKinnon scored his seventh of the tournament, tying him for the tournament lead and making it 5-2. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/19/rasmus-andersson-mackenzie-weegar-among-four-flames-set-to-represent-respective-nations-at-upcoming-world-championships/">Rasmus Andersson</a> scored late on a pinballing puck, but the deficit remained as Canada held on for a 5-3 win and top spot in Group A.</p>
<p data-start="6359" data-end="6554">Andersson capped off an excellent round-robin with that late goal. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/22/flames-captain-mikael-backlund-will-represent-sweden-at-iihf-world-championship/">Mikael Backlund</a>, playing a shutdown role as he often does for the Flames, was effective despite not hitting the scoresheet. While it wasn&#8217;t the finish to the round robin either were looking for, both Andersson and Backlund put together some very good games in front of their home crowd and they&#8217;ll look to give them more to cheer for in the quarterfinals.</p>
<p data-start="6556" data-end="6786"><a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/05/01/mackenzie-weegar-named-to-canadas-iihf-worlds-roster-zayne-parekh-to-attend-pre-tournament-camp/">MacKenzie Weegar</a> had a standout performance, especially in the third. He logged more minutes in the final frame than any other Canadian skater and wasn’t on the ice for any Swedish goals. Only Sanheim had more total ice time.</p>
<p data-start="6788" data-end="6920">With the win, Canada gets a favourable quarterfinal draw against Denmark, while Sweden faces a tough test against Czechia.</p>
<h2 data-start="6927" data-end="6962">Quarterfinal match-ups</h2>
<p data-start="6927" data-end="6962"><strong>May 22 (All times MDT):</strong></p>
<ul data-start="6964" data-end="7125">
<li data-start="6964" data-end="7000">
<p data-start="6966" data-end="7000">(2B) 🇺🇸 USA vs (3A) 🇫🇮 Finland &#8211; 8:20 a.m.</p>
</li>
<li data-start="7001" data-end="7045">
<p data-start="7003" data-end="7045">(1B) 🇨🇭 Switzerland vs (4A) 🇦🇹 Austria &#8211; 8:20 a.m.</p>
</li>
<li data-start="7046" data-end="7085">
<p data-start="7048" data-end="7085">(2A) 🇸🇪 Sweden vs (3B) 🇨🇿 Czechia -12:20 p.m.</p>
</li>
<li data-start="7086" data-end="7125">
<p data-start="7088" data-end="7125">(1A) 🇨🇦 Canada vs (4B) 🇩🇰 Denmark -12:20 p.m.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p data-start="7127" data-end="7270">With a rest day on Wednesday, all eight quarterfinal teams will be fresh and ready to leave it all on the ice in hopes of reaching the semi-finals.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong></p>
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Calgary Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar (52) skates with the puck against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome.

The final day of round-robin match-ups at this year’s IIHF World Championship has arrived. With six games on the schedule, plenty was still up in the air with quarterfinal berths on the line. Fans were also treated to several Flames in action, including a marquee showdown between Canada and Sweden.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
<p data-start="163" data-end="499">Here’s how Day 12 unfolded:</p>

<h2 data-start="506" data-end="537">🇱🇻 Latvia vs 🇦🇹 Austria</h2>
<p data-start="539" data-end="701">The day kicked off with a massive match-up that had a direct impact on the standings. The winner would advance to the quarterfinals; the loser would be eliminated.</p>
<p data-start="703" data-end="1027">The opening goal came in unorthodox fashion. At the tail end of a Latvian power play, a point shot was blocked by an Austrian penalty killer and bounced out of the zone directly to Dominic Zwerger, who had just exited the penalty box. Zwerger made no mistake on the breakaway, beating the Latvian goalie to make it 1-0.</p>
<p data-start="1029" data-end="1334">Things didn’t improve for Latvia in the second. A power-play marker followed by a poor turnover allowed Vinzenz Rohrer to break in alone and extend the lead to 3-0. Latvia’s leading scorer, Eduards Tralmak, gave his team a glimmer of hope late in the frame with a goal to cut the deficit to two.</p>
<p data-start="1336" data-end="1456">But in the third, Austria took over. Three unanswered goals secured a 6-1 victory and a place in the quarterfinals.</p>

<h2 data-start="1463" data-end="1502">🇨🇭 Switzerland vs 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan</h2>
<p data-start="1504" data-end="1603">In another game with major implications, Kazakhstan needed just one point to avoid relegation.</p>
<p data-start="1605" data-end="1900">While Switzerland has been dominant throughout the tournament, Kazakhstan came out determined. Arkadiy Shestakov opened the scoring in the first, burying a rebound. Goalie Maxim Pavlenko was outstanding, made 35 saves in this game, including a spectacular cross-crease stick stop to preserve the lead.</p>
<p data-start="1902" data-end="2014">Kevin Fiala finally broke through late in the second, redirecting a puck off his skate to tie the game 1-1.</p>
<p data-start="2016" data-end="2317">In the third, Sven Andrighetto scored his seventh of the tournament to give Switzerland the lead. Despite relentless pressure, Kazakhstan couldn’t find the equalizer. Andres Ambühl added insurance before an empty-netter sealed Kazakhstan’s fate, with a 3-1 final score. They’ve been relegated from the top division.</p>
<p data-start="2319" data-end="2411">Switzerland sat at the top Group B, pending the result of the USA vs Czechia match-up.</p>

<h2 data-start="2418" data-end="2451">🇫🇮 Finland vs 🇸🇰 Slovakia</h2>
<p data-start="2453" data-end="2606">The stakes weren’t quite as high in this one. Slovakia had already been eliminated from playoff contention, while Finland had secured its spot.</p>
<p data-start="2608" data-end="2807">It was a low-scoring affair. Finland scored in each of the first two periods to take a 2-0 lead. Slovakia cut the lead with a late power-play goal, but that’s as close as they’d get. Finland won 2-1.</p>
<p data-start="2809" data-end="3124"><a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/28/flames-prospect-sam-honzek-will-represent-slovakia-at-the-iihf-world-championship/">Sam Honzek was a scratch</a>, likely to give others an opportunity to play in the tournament. Overall, it wasn’t the tournament Honzek hoped for: a goal, an assist, and a –2 rating. He was often limited to the lowest minutes on the team and took a few penalties, but still managed to contribute on a Slovak squad that struggled to score. It leaves you to wonder if Honzek received a proper opportunity, if the results could have been different.</p>
<p data-start="3126" data-end="3223">With the tournament over for Slovakia, Honzek now shifts focus to a hopefully productive summer as he prepares for Flames training camp this fall.</p>

<h2 data-start="3230" data-end="3258">🇺🇸 USA vs 🇨🇿 Czechia</h2>
<p data-start="3260" data-end="3490">While both teams had already qualified for the quarterfinals, this game would determine final seeding. A Czech win would clinch top spot in Group B, while a U.S. win would move them into second and drop Czechia to third.</p>
<p data-start="3492" data-end="3664">USA dominated early, out-shooting Czechia 23-6 in the opening frame. Only Josh Doan managed to solve Karel Vejmelka, burying a rebound to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead.</p>
<p data-start="3666" data-end="3910">Despite being out-shot, Czechia struck back in the second. David Pastrnak scored on a breakaway, beating Jeremy Swayman glove side. Martin Nečas followed up with a one-timer off a no-look pass from Pastrnak to give the Czechs the lead.</p>
<p data-start="3912" data-end="4116">Penalties hurt Czechia in the third. Frank Nazar scored twice on early power plays to tie and then retake the lead. Logan Cooley added another late, and an empty-netter sealed a 5-2 American victory.</p>
<p data-start="4118" data-end="4228">USA finished second in Group B, Czechia third, and Switzerland officially claimed the top spot.</p>
<p data-start="4230" data-end="4545"><a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/29/dan-vladar-effective-complement-to-dustin-wolf-calgary-flames-2024-25/">Dan Vladar</a> got the night off after starting the first half of the back-to-back yesterday. Vejmelka appears to be the favourite to start in the quarterfinals, though Vladar has arguably had the better tournament. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/29/flames-forward-adam-klapka-to-represent-czechia-at-iihf-world-championship/">Adam Klapka</a> took a minor penalty in the game and saw his ice time cut, with Czechia leaning on top forwards to try and win this one. It'll be interesting to see how both Vladar and Klapka are used in the quarterfinals and potentially beyond.</p>

<h2 data-start="4552" data-end="4584">🇩🇪 Germany vs 🇩🇰 Denmark</h2>
<p data-start="4586" data-end="4661">Credit to the schedule-makers. They nailed it as this was another win-or-go-home scenario on the final day.</p>
<p data-start="4663" data-end="4872">Denmark got a boost with the addition of Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers. Despite dominating the first period, Denmark couldn’t beat Philipp Grubauer, who made 14 saves to keep things scoreless.</p>
<p data-start="4874" data-end="5030">Germany flipped the script in the second. Korbinian Geibel’s point shot took a deflection and found the back of the net to make it 1-0 heading to the third.</p>
<p data-start="5032" data-end="5155">That’s when Ehlers made his presence felt, chasing down a dumped-in puck and roofing it over Grubauer to tie the game.</p>
<p data-start="5157" data-end="5467">Overtime solved nothing, so the game went to a shootout. Nick Olesen and Joachim Blichfeld scored on Denmark’s first two attempts. After four straight misses, Dominic Kahun needed to score to extend it, but Frederik Dichow made the low blocker save to secure Denmark’s spot in the quarterfinals via a 2-1 win.</p>
<p data-start="5469" data-end="5564">Germany’s tournament ends in disappointment after a strong start with three straight wins.</p>

<h2 data-start="5571" data-end="5601">🇨🇦 Canada vs 🇸🇪 Sweden</h2>
<p data-start="5603" data-end="5694">A thrilling game between two tournament heavyweights, with top spot in Group A on the line.</p>
<p data-start="5696" data-end="5934">Travis Sanheim opened the scoring just 18 seconds in. Former Flame, Elias Lindholm responded with a short-handed goal, beating Jordan Binnington five-hole. Tyson Foerster and Ryan O’Reilly added goals to give Canada a 3-1 lead after a wild first period to get this game going.</p>
<p data-start="5936" data-end="6091">Sweden clawed back with an early second-period goal, but Macklin Celebrini answered with a beautiful goal to restore the two-goal cushion.</p>
<p data-start="6093" data-end="6357">In the third, Nathan MacKinnon scored his seventh of the tournament, tying him for the tournament lead and making it 5-2. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/19/rasmus-andersson-mackenzie-weegar-among-four-flames-set-to-represent-respective-nations-at-upcoming-world-championships/">Rasmus Andersson</a> scored late on a pinballing puck, but the deficit remained as Canada held on for a 5-3 win and top spot in Group A.</p>
<p data-start="6359" data-end="6554">Andersson capped off an excellent round-robin with that late goal. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/22/flames-captain-mikael-backlund-will-represent-sweden-at-iihf-world-championship/">Mikael Backlund</a>, playing a shutdown role as he often does for the Flames, was effective despite not hitting the scoresheet. While it wasn't the finish to the round robin either were looking for, both Andersson and Backlund put together some very good games in front of their home crowd and they'll look to give them more to cheer for in the quarterfinals.</p>
<p data-start="6556" data-end="6786"><a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/05/01/mackenzie-weegar-named-to-canadas-iihf-worlds-roster-zayne-parekh-to-attend-pre-tournament-camp/">MacKenzie Weegar</a> had a standout performance, especially in the third. He logged more minutes in the final frame than any other Canadian skater and wasn’t on the ice for any Swedish goals. Only Sanheim had more total ice time.</p>
<p data-start="6788" data-end="6920">With the win, Canada gets a favourable quarterfinal draw against Denmark, while Sweden faces a tough test against Czechia.</p>

<h2 data-start="6927" data-end="6962">Quarterfinal match-ups</h2>
<p data-start="6927" data-end="6962"><strong>May 22 (All times MDT):</strong></p>

<ul data-start="6964" data-end="7125">
 	<li data-start="6964" data-end="7000">
<p data-start="6966" data-end="7000">(2B) 🇺🇸 USA vs (3A) 🇫🇮 Finland - 8:20 a.m.</p>
</li>
 	<li data-start="7001" data-end="7045">
<p data-start="7003" data-end="7045">(1B) 🇨🇭 Switzerland vs (4A) 🇦🇹 Austria - 8:20 a.m.</p>
</li>
 	<li data-start="7046" data-end="7085">
<p data-start="7048" data-end="7085">(2A) 🇸🇪 Sweden vs (3B) 🇨🇿 Czechia -12:20 p.m.</p>
</li>
 	<li data-start="7086" data-end="7125">
<p data-start="7088" data-end="7125">(1A) 🇨🇦 Canada vs (4B) 🇩🇰 Denmark -12:20 p.m.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p data-start="7127" data-end="7270">With a rest day on Wednesday, all eight quarterfinal teams will be fresh and ready to leave it all on the ice in hopes of reaching the semi-finals.</p>
<strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong>
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