On Tuesday, Feb. 17, Switzerland and Italy faced off in a qualification playoff game for the Olympic men’s hockey tournament. The Swiss were dominant throughout the entire game, taking a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes of the game. Despite having no goals in the second, Italy made a valiant effort to make a comeback, but each attempt was thwarted by Team Switzerland.
Related: Guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics Men’s Tournament
The final 20 minutes of the game were costly for Italy, with a roughing call allowing Switzerland to go up 3-0. This marks Switzerland’s second shutout of the tournament, after defeating France 4-0 last week. As a result, they will advance to the quarterfinals.
Italy Unable to Keep Up
Italian goaltender Damian Clara may have allowed three goals against, but he still made an impressive 48 saves. From the opening puck drop, he was bombarded with shots on goal, while Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni faced a total of 20 shots.
Despite a myriad of highlight-worthy saves, Clara could not stop Team Switzerland. It began with Philipp Kurashev firing home the rebound just 1:19 into the first period. Nine minutes later, captain Roman Josi found the back of the net. Unfortunately, Team Italy was unable to climb out of this early deficit, which would eventually cost them the game.
Hischier’s Three-Point Game
The hero of the game was alternate captain Nico Hischier, who had a hand in all three goals scored for Switzerland. In fact, he is currently tied with Roman Wick for the most points by a Swiss player in an Olympic game involving NHL players. Of their 51 shots on goal, he contributed seven, which tied him with Josi for the team lead. Prior to this game, Hischier had just one assist in the tournament, but he stepped up when Team Switzerland needed him most.
He earned a goal and an assist on the man advantage, but it all started with two assists early on in the first period. He’s been offensively dominant in all four games thus far, but his first goal of the tournament sealed the deal on Switzerland’s lead.
After Italy’s Mat Frycklund was called for roughing, it did not take long for Hischier to put Switzerland up 3-0. Six seconds after the penalty began, he buried the puck with the help of Damien Riat, along with his New Jersey Devils teammate, Timo Meier. Together, Hischier and Meier have been two of Switzerland’s best players, excelling at generating scoring chances and driving play.
Switzerland’s Success Leading up to Quarterfinals
Switzerland is now 2-1-0-1 in the men’s hockey tournament, and their performance over Italy puts them in the second seed for Group A, just behind Canada, the only team to hand them a loss so far. A large part of their success comes from Genoni, who has been in net for all four games. The 38-year-old goaltender has already recorded two shutouts, allowing just eight goals against.
The Swiss have also been conscientious about not taking careless penalties. For example, they spent a total of six minutes in the penalty box, as compared to Italy’s 12. Likewise, they were able to capitalize twice on the man advantage, while their opponent was unable to score a power-play goal. Switzerland had a similar showing against France, where they took advantage of a power play to put themselves up 2-0 just three minutes into the opening period.
All in all, the back-to-back IIHF World Championship silver medalists are shaping up to be a solid Olympic team. With an elite batch of NHL talent, a reliable starting goaltender, and phenomenal on-ice chemistry, they have the potential to make a deep playoff run.
Back in Action Tomorrow
Team Switzerland will play again on Feb. 18, facing Finland in the Olympic quarterfinals. The game is set for 12:10 PM EST. Italy, on the other hand, is now eliminated from medal contention.
