Latvia routs Hungary 8-1 to reach quarterfinals at ice hockey worlds

From left: Hungary's goaltender Bence Balizs, Latvia's Filips Buncis, Hungary's Gabor Tornyai and Latvia's Rudolfs Balcers fight for the puck during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A game between Hungary and Latvia, in Zurich, Switzerland, Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

From left: Hungary's goaltender Bence Balizs, Latvia's Filips Buncis, Hungary's Gabor Tornyai and Latvia's Rudolfs Balcers fight for the puck during the 2026 IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship preliminary round group A game between Hungary and Latvia, in Zurich, Switzerland, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP)


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ZURICH — Latvia advanced to the quarterfinals at the ice hockey world championship by routing Hungary 8-1 on Tuesday.

Latvia moved to third place in Group A in Zurich and secured a top-four finish.

The United States will join Latvia in the next stage if the defending champion beats Austria later Tuesday. Austria will advance with a win. In either case, Germany will drop from fourth to fifth and can't advance.

Host Switzerland and Finland top the standings and face each other later to decide the group winner.

Norway, which has already qualified for the last eight for the first time since 2012, needed overtime to down Denmark 4-3 in Group B action in Fribourg.

In the same group, Sweden faced a must-win game over Slovakia to advance, and group winner Canada played already qualified Czechia.

The quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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