The Norwegian national team reached the playoffs of the Ice Hockey World Championship for the first time since 2012.

On May 25, the Norwegian national team beat the Czech Republic 4-1 in the group stage match of the Ice Hockey World Cup, which is being held in Switzerland.

The victory allowed the Norwegian hockey players to guarantee their participation in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Among the winners, Havard Salsten scored goals in the third minute, Michael Brandsegg-Nygaard scored doubles in the seventh and 55th minutes, and Martin Ronnild scored in the 49th minute. Jaroslav Chmelarz scored the only goal for the Czech national team in the 16th minute of the match.

The Norwegian national team reached the World Championship playoffs for the first time since 2012. Then the national team lost to the Russian national team in the quarterfinals with a score of 2:5.

Following the results of the six matches played, Norway and the Czech Republic have 13 points each. The teams occupy the second and third places in the Group B standings, respectively. In the final round of the group stage, the matches of which will take place on Tuesday, May 26, the Norwegians will face the Danish team. The Czech national team will play a game against Canada on the same day.

Semi-final shot: will Vegas and Montreal be able to jump over their heads

"Carolina" and "Colorado" still look like favorites in the fight for the trophy.

On May 23, the Latvian national team defeated the USA team with a score of 4:2 in the group stage match of the World Hockey Championship, which is being held in Switzerland. After five matches, Latvia scored six points and moved up to fourth place in Group A, displacing the United States to fifth place. The American national team suffered its third defeat in the group stage.