Shannon Coulter
Canada’s National Men’s Team is right back to work after Thursday’s overtime win against Norway, facing off against Slovenia on Friday as the preliminary round continues at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
Last Game
Canada remains undefeated in Fribourg after edging Norway 6-5 in overtime. It was a back-and-forth battle—Mark Scheifele scored twice to make it 2-2 after the first period before Gabriel Vilardi’s power-play goal tied the game again with 40 minutes complete. Dylan Cozens scored short-handed to open the third period and Ryan O’Reilly’s goal sent the game to overtime. Scheifele completed his hat trick 29 seconds into the extra frame to earn Canada’s fourth victory.
Slovenia last played on Wednesday, falling 6-0 to Sweden for its third consecutive loss. Zan Us made 39 saves against the Swedes, and Slovenia had successful kills on two of its three penalties.
Last Meeting
Canada opened last year’s tournament with a 4-0 blanking of Slovenia. Special teams were key—Bo Horvat scored twice on the power play and Noah Dobson added a goal with the man advantage. Nathan MacKinnon recorded a goal and two assists. Dylan Garand made 11 saves for the shutout and Canada put 40 shots on Slovenia’s Lukas Horak.
What to Watch
The line chemistry between Scheifele and Vilardi has certainly carried over from Winnipeg. The Jets duo have a combined five goals and nine points in four games in Fribourg and have been a steady line with Robert Thomas since Canada played Italy on May 16. This is Scheifele’s fourth appearance at Men’s Worlds (2014, 2016, 2017), previously taking home gold (2016) and silver (2017), while Vilardi is suiting up in his second tournament after winning gold in 2021. On the blue line, Evan Bouchard now leads Canada with a plus-eight—he recorded three assists against Norway.
After representing Slovenia at U18 Men’s Worlds and World Juniors, 19-year-old Jan Golicic has his first chance to represent his country at the senior level. The defenceman started the season as the captain of the Gatineau Olympiques before he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He recorded five goals and 44 points in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s regular season, plus a goal and eight points in 17 playoff games. A veteran on Slovenia is 36-year-old defenceman Blaz Gregorc, who will play in his seventh Men’s Worlds. He has two assists so far in Fribourg.
A Look Back
This will be the seventh meeting between Canada and Slovenia at Men’s Worlds, and the Canadians are undefeated through the first six.
The closest game was in 2013—the Slovenians held a 3-2 lead heading into the third period before Brenden Dillon tied the game with 13 minutes left and Steven Stamkos won it 3:36 into overtime for Canada.
All-time record: Canada leads 6-0 (1-0 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 33 Slovenia goals: 8