Canada Stunned by Denmark in Shocking World Hockey Championship Exit
Imagine this: you're sitting there, watching the clock tick down, confident that Canada—yes, Canada —is about to sail through to the semifinals of the World Hockey Championship. And then, out of nowhere, the unthinkable happens. The underdog, Denmark, turns the hockey world upside down with a late-game blitz, sending the powerhouse Canadians packing. That’s not a dream—or a nightmare—it’s what actually went down in the 2025 quarterfinals.
Canada, a team stacked with stars like Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin Celebrini, was widely expected to cruise past Denmark. The Canadian squad had looked solid throughout the preliminaries, dropping just one game, and even that was an overtime loss to Finland. So going into this quarterfinal match, fans, analysts, even the players themselves probably thought this was a stepping stone to the podium.
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But Denmark had other plans.
The game was tense, tight, and defensive from the get-go. Canada's Travis Sanheim finally broke the deadlock early in the third period, and it looked like that might be enough. Then, with just over two minutes left, Denmark pulled their goalie for the extra attacker—and it worked. Nikolaj Ehlers found the back of the net, tying the game and stunning everyone watching.
If that wasn’t shocking enough, Denmark wasn’t done. With less than a minute left, Nick Olesen, completely unchecked near the crease, slid the puck past Jordan Binnington to put Denmark ahead. That goal, scored with just 49 seconds left on the clock, sent the Danes into the semifinals—and the Canadians into stunned silence.
A huge part of this upset was Denmark's goalie, Frederik Dichow. The former Montreal Canadiens draft pick stopped 39 shots, putting on a goaltending clinic that frustrated Canada all night long. Meanwhile, Jordan Binnington did his part with 31 saves, but it just wasn’t enough.
This marks the second year in a row that Canada has left the tournament without a medal. Last year it was a bronze-medal loss to Sweden. But this year? They didn’t even make it to the medal rounds. It's also the first time since 2014 that Canada exits at the quarterfinal stage.
Adding emotional weight to the loss, this game also closes the curtain on the legendary career of Marc-André Fleury. He ends his international journey with a respectable 2-1 record and a stellar .944 save percentage during the tournament.
So here we are, watching one of the greatest hockey nations bow out to a team that had never even reached the semifinals before. Denmark, the eleventh-ranked team in the world, just made history. And for Canada, this is a loss that will sting for a long time—because it wasn’t just about being beaten. It was about being blindsided. Hockey fans around the globe will be talking about this one for years.
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