Robin Antenen scored the second-period winner. Simon Meier and Ludvig Johnson tallied a goal and an assist apiece, while Eric Schneller had two helpers. With Christian Kirsch in net, the Swiss stepped up with a two-way effort, outshooting Kazakhstan 35-12 en route to their first tournament win.
“We had good puck movement against the Kazakhs and that really helped us today,” Johnson said. “It was a big part of our power play.”
“It is what it is,” said Kazakh captain Aslan Zhussupbekov, “We just got too many penalties and not enough shots.”
The Swiss face a daunting task in the quarter-finals versus either the defending champion U.S. or host Canada.
“To be honest, I don’t think we care who play,” said Simon Meier. “We’ve said it all tournament long: it’s about us. It’s about what we do out there. It’s exciting to move on, playing in a big rink.”
Both Switzerland and Kazakhstan have floundered offensively at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring seven goals apiece through their first three preliminary-round games. Kazakhstan, though, has been easily the weakest defensive team in Ottawa, with a 14-2 loss to Czechia representing the low point.
Kazakh assistant captain Alexander Kim spoke about facing Germany next: “It will be a tough game. We both have time to recover from these games. So I think it’s going to be a fight, a war. The Germans will shoot a lot from the top, so we just gotta be ready for that.”
For Switzerland, the power play has emerged as a weapon. Coach Marcel Jenni’s squad entered this game with the second-best conversion rate (4-for-7, 30.7 percent), having tallied four third-period power play goals in a 7-5 loss on 29 December to Sweden. They got two more PP goals versus Kazakhstan.
Just 19 seconds into Switzerland’s first power play, Simon Meier capitalized on a one-timer from the high slot that beat Kazakh goalie Vladimir Nikitin along the ice at 1:41.
“I actually didn’t think I got a lot on it, but it was enough, I guess,” said Meier. “We moved the puck around really well there, and luckily it went in. [Rico] Gredig did a good job of screening the goalie there, and so I don’t think he saw where the puck went.”
Kazakhstan had a response. Nearing the six-minute mark, Nikitin came across alertly to stymie Lars Steiner on an odd-man rush. Moments later, Kirill Lyapunov got the puck with speed in the neutral zone, dipsy-doodled around Swiss blueliner Ludvig Johnson, and went high to the glove side for his team-leading third goal of these World Juniors at 6:10.
The Swiss defence kept getting caught looking at the puck rather than the man. Schneller was called for hooking when Nikita Sitnikov almost replicated Lyapunov’s stickhandling heroics, but the Kazakhs couldn’t cash in on the ensuing power play.
Play was choppy in the second period as the Swiss pressed for the go-ahead goal, outshooting their Central Asian opponents 13-4. Finally, Atenen came through at 17:18. On the forecheck, the 18-year-old winger, one of five EV Zug players on this roster, surprised Nikitin with a high shot from the side boards.
At 8:59 of the third period, Johnson gave Switzerland some breathing room with a fantastic power-play one-timer from the right faceoff circle. In the dying stages, the Kazakhs couldn’t conver with the man advantage or get Nikitin out for an extra attacker.
There were some noteworthy omissions from both teams’ lineups. Switzerland’s Kimo Gruber, who potted two goals against Sweden, was not dressed. Neither was Kazakhstan’s Assanali Sarkenov, who served a one-game suspension for a cross-checking incident in the 5-4 overtime loss to Slovakia.
Regarding the importance of staying in the top division, Zhussupbekov said: “It’s gonna mean the world. We have to stay here, because I think we deserve that. We just have to prove to everyone that we can stay here.”
Although Switzerland is the more successful hockey nation, Kazakhstan hasn’t historically been a pushover in head-to-head World Junior competition dating back to 1997. In the six previous group-stage encounters, the Kazakhs had two wins, one tie, and three losses. In their last meeting, Switzerland opened the 2020 World Juniors with a 5-3 victory as Matthew Verboon scored twice.