Switzerland defeated France 4-0 in the Group A opener of the men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan. Timo Meier scored twice, while Leonardo Genoni recorded a shutout with 27 saves. France's Antoine Keller made 39 saves in the loss.
Switzerland Defeats France in Olympic Hockey Opener
Switzerland opened the Group A play at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 with a 4-0 victory over France on February 12 at Santagiulia Arena in Milan. The win featured strong performances from New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier, who scored both of his goals in the third period, and goalie Leonardo Genoni, who earned a shutout.
The game started quickly for Switzerland. Damien Riat scored on a power-play rebound at 0:55, assisted by Sven Andrighetto. J.J. Moser, a defenseman for the Tampa Bay Lightning, added a wrist shot goal at 3:06 to make it 2-0. France, penalized early when captain Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was called for tripping at 0:36, struggled to respond despite 11 shots in the first period.
"Certainly, a good start for myself, too," Moser said. "If you can score two goals early on, gives you a bit more confidence, gives you a little bit more breathing room."
Genoni, who has never played in the NHL but starred internationally, preserved the lead. At 38 years and 168 days old, he became the oldest goalie to record a shutout in Olympics with NHL players, surpassing Mike Richter's 2002 mark.
"He has shown it for decades now on an international level," Moser said of Genoni. "Confident and very sure that he does not get the credit that he deserves just because he never played in the NHL."
Meier extended the lead to 3-0 at 10:08 on a pass from captain Roman Josi, then added his second at 16:13 through Keller's pads. Meier, in his Olympic debut, finished with four shots and a plus-3 rating.
"Timo is all-around a great player," teammate Nico Hischier said. "Not just the goals he scored. Also, the forecheck he did and the backcheck. He was very present in this game."
France went 0-for-4 on the power play in its first Olympics since 2002. Keller, a Washington Capitals prospect, stopped 39 shots.
"It's an honor to be here," Keller said. "I'm honestly finding it all to be incredible... It was truly magical."
"We're still learning," Montreal Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier said. "We just lost 4-0 against a good country. We are a smaller hockey nation. Despite that, we showed character."
Switzerland (1-0-0-0) faces Canada next, while France (0-0-0-1) plays Czechia on Friday. Meier became the first Swiss NHL player with multiple Olympic goals.
