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Canada defeated Switzerland in a game that, despite the very one-sided final score, was decided entirely in the third period, with Mathis Preston recording a hat trick and teammates Dimian Zhilkin and Adam Valentini both scoring twice. Entering the match as clear favorites, Canada showed dominance from start to finish, but Switzerland did manage to bag a feel-good goal during all the goal-scoring craziness.
Penalties: 5:4. PP goals: 0:1. SH goals: 0:0.
Referees: Pilný, Hacaperka – Dědek, Peluha. Attendance: 986.
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A goalless first period meant Canada had to wait until the start of the middle frame to get the game going. The Maple Leafs carried over a powerplay and scored immediately after the face-off when Ethan Belchetz set up Dimian Zhilkin for a shot between Zambelli’s pads. Cooper Williams missed a breakaway shortly after, whereas Switzerland had a 5-on-3 power play for ninety seconds but failed to convert. The rest of the period featured frequent penalties, breaking up play.
Switzerland attempted to close the gap early in the third period but failed to create any real threat. Then Canada broke loose: Preston scored first, followed by Zhilkin just 20 seconds later, while Adam Valentini made it 4:0 in another blink of the eye, thus completing a crazy minute of play in which Canada scored three goals.
Preston capitalised on a Swiss error to make it 5:0, tucking in his second of the game, before the Swiss scored their sole goal od the game in the 54th minute through Fabrice Bouvard. Preston tipped in a shot from Markus Ruck to complete his hat trick a few minutes later, but the scoring didn’t stop there, as Valentini, Belchetz and Ryan Lin each added one more, capping Canada’s commanding 9–1 victory in their second game of the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. "My teammates played a big part in my goals. They always managed to find me in great positions, so I thank them for that," revealed scorer Preston.