Zurich's Swiss Life Arena will host the gold medal game of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on 31 May.
photo: Swiss Life Arena, ZSC Lions
If the dreams of Swiss hockey fans come true, the biggest moment in Zurich hockey history will take place on 31 May, 2026.
That would, of course, be an historic Swiss victory in the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship gold medal game. It would eclipse such previous IIHF feats as the two Olympic bronze medal victories in St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948, not to mention the four World Championship silver medals Switzerland has bittersweetly captured in the 21st century.
However, we’re still counting down the days to the kick-off of this year’s Men’s Worlds (15 May) in Zurich and Fribourg. And there’s a lot of hockey to be played before the medals are handed out. So it’s a great time to reflect on some other wonderful hockey moments – in both men’s and women’s competition – that Switzerland’s biggest city has witnessed.
Here are 10 milestones in Zurich hockey history.
Zurich hosts WM for first time (1939)
With Basel, Zurich co-hosted the last World Championship contested before World War II. This history-making tournament saw Canada’s amateur Trail Smoke Eaters dominating the competition en route to gold with a perfect record and a 42-1 goal difference. Goalie Duke Scodellaro – nicknamed “The Shutout King” – stepped up with four shutouts.
That would, of course, be an historic Swiss victory in the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship gold medal game. It would eclipse such previous IIHF feats as the two Olympic bronze medal victories in St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948, not to mention the four World Championship silver medals Switzerland has bittersweetly captured in the 21st century.
However, we’re still counting down the days to the kick-off of this year’s Men’s Worlds (15 May) in Zurich and Fribourg. And there’s a lot of hockey to be played before the medals are handed out. So it’s a great time to reflect on some other wonderful hockey moments – in both men’s and women’s competition – that Switzerland’s biggest city has witnessed.
Here are 10 milestones in Zurich hockey history.
Zurich hosts WM for first time (1939)
With Basel, Zurich co-hosted the last World Championship contested before World War II. This history-making tournament saw Canada’s amateur Trail Smoke Eaters dominating the competition en route to gold with a perfect record and a 42-1 goal difference. Goalie Duke Scodellaro – nicknamed “The Shutout King” – stepped up with four shutouts.
Switzerland competed on home ice at the 1939 Men's Worlds, with Zurich and Basel co-hosting.
Swiss fans had reason to cheer too as the home team claimed the bronze. With 22 points in 10 games, legendary captain Bibi Torriani finished second to Czechoslovakia’s Josef Malecek in the scoring race. Today, the IIHF’s annual Bibi Torriani Award honours a retired player from an up-and-coming hockey nation who had an outstanding career.
Zurich has served as a WM host city twice since 1939. The Swedes won the gold medal in both 1953 and 1998.
ZSC Lions capture back-to-back IIHF Continental Cups (2002)
Known as Zurcher SC before merging with Grasshopper Club Zurich in 1997, this franchise amassed three Swiss national titles and two Spengler Cups in the 20th century. But post-merger, their fortunes took off as they not only won two straight Swiss championships in 2000 and 2001, but also earned consecutive IIHF Continental Cups in 2001 and 2002.
In 2001, host Zurich won the Continental Cup by blanking the London Knights (a UK pro team) 1-0 and beating the Munchen Barons 4-1 in the final round-robin. Hosting again in 2002, Zurich pounded HC Milano Vipers 6-1 in the final.
Streit springboards from Zurich to NHL (2005)
Born in Englisberg, Mark Streit played junior hockey with Bern and Fribourg-Gotteron and spent his early years in the top Swiss league with Davos. However, it was in his mid-20’s, as the captain of ZSC Lions, that he truly hit his stride. Winning two NLA Defenceman of the Year awards in Zurich, Streit readied himself to make the leap to the NHL with Montreal in 2005-06.
Streit, a 2017 Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh and 2020 IIHF Hall of Fame inductee, was the top Swiss NHL defenceman (434 points in 786 career games) until the rise of Roman Josi. He appeared in three Olympics and 13 Men’s Worlds.
Zurich shocks Chicago to win Victoria Cup (2009)
Inter-league showdowns are always intriguing. The second edition of the Victoria Cup pitted ZSC Lions – the winners of the Champions Hockey League – against the Chicago Blackhawks, who represented the NHL just months before capturing their first Stanley Cup since 1961. The final took place at Zurich’s old Hallenstadion in front of 9,744 fans. Lukas Grauwiler scored the second-period go-ahead goal on Chicago’s Corey Crawford as the Lions earned a 2-1 upset.
“It obviously was an honour and a thrill for us just to play against a NHL team, and to actually win the game, it was a great feeling,” said Canadian-born Lions coach Sean Simpson, who would serve as Switzerland’s head coach at the 2014 Olympics and five Worlds (2010-14). “The boys had the right attitude. They had respect for the Hawks, but still went out and played their hearts out. It was a special night for Swiss hockey and Swiss sport."
Meier goes out in style (2018)
While the Swiss women fell short in their 2018 quest to medal for the second straight Olympics (having earned bronze in 2014), Christine Meier stepped up in PyeongChang. The longtime ZSC Lions Frauen blueliner led her third and final Olympics with eight assists.
Zurich has served as a WM host city twice since 1939. The Swedes won the gold medal in both 1953 and 1998.
ZSC Lions capture back-to-back IIHF Continental Cups (2002)
Known as Zurcher SC before merging with Grasshopper Club Zurich in 1997, this franchise amassed three Swiss national titles and two Spengler Cups in the 20th century. But post-merger, their fortunes took off as they not only won two straight Swiss championships in 2000 and 2001, but also earned consecutive IIHF Continental Cups in 2001 and 2002.
In 2001, host Zurich won the Continental Cup by blanking the London Knights (a UK pro team) 1-0 and beating the Munchen Barons 4-1 in the final round-robin. Hosting again in 2002, Zurich pounded HC Milano Vipers 6-1 in the final.
Streit springboards from Zurich to NHL (2005)
Born in Englisberg, Mark Streit played junior hockey with Bern and Fribourg-Gotteron and spent his early years in the top Swiss league with Davos. However, it was in his mid-20’s, as the captain of ZSC Lions, that he truly hit his stride. Winning two NLA Defenceman of the Year awards in Zurich, Streit readied himself to make the leap to the NHL with Montreal in 2005-06.
Streit, a 2017 Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh and 2020 IIHF Hall of Fame inductee, was the top Swiss NHL defenceman (434 points in 786 career games) until the rise of Roman Josi. He appeared in three Olympics and 13 Men’s Worlds.
Zurich shocks Chicago to win Victoria Cup (2009)
Inter-league showdowns are always intriguing. The second edition of the Victoria Cup pitted ZSC Lions – the winners of the Champions Hockey League – against the Chicago Blackhawks, who represented the NHL just months before capturing their first Stanley Cup since 1961. The final took place at Zurich’s old Hallenstadion in front of 9,744 fans. Lukas Grauwiler scored the second-period go-ahead goal on Chicago’s Corey Crawford as the Lions earned a 2-1 upset.
“It obviously was an honour and a thrill for us just to play against a NHL team, and to actually win the game, it was a great feeling,” said Canadian-born Lions coach Sean Simpson, who would serve as Switzerland’s head coach at the 2014 Olympics and five Worlds (2010-14). “The boys had the right attitude. They had respect for the Hawks, but still went out and played their hearts out. It was a special night for Swiss hockey and Swiss sport."
Meier goes out in style (2018)
While the Swiss women fell short in their 2018 quest to medal for the second straight Olympics (having earned bronze in 2014), Christine Meier stepped up in PyeongChang. The longtime ZSC Lions Frauen blueliner led her third and final Olympics with eight assists.
Before retiring from the national team, Christine Meier (centre) represented Switzerland at seven Women's Worlds.
The three-time Swiss Ice Hockey Woman of the Year also captured her sixth league title with ZSC Lions Frauen. At season’s end, Meier retired as the all-time scoring leader – both regular season and playoffs – in the top Swiss league’s history.
ZSC Lions win Champions Hockey League (2025)
After taking over from Marc Crawford behind the ZSC Lions bench at the end of December, head coach Marco Bayer achieved an historic success less than two months later.
In the 2025 CHL final on 18 February, Sven Andrighetto scored twice as the host Lions beat Sweden’s Farjestad 2-1. Named the CHL MVP, the veteran Swiss national team member led all CHL scorers with 10 goals and 22 points. Zurich’s Swiss Life Arena was sold out with 12,000 fans on hand.
ZSC Lions capture second straight Swiss title (2025)
Zurich’s Swiss NL team heated up at the right time again in the playoffs. After defeating EHC Kloten in the quarter-finals and HC Davos in the semi-finals, the ZSC Lions earned their second straight national title by beating HC Lausanne, which was also their 2024 final opponent. This was the 11th championship in Lions history.
ZSC Lions win Champions Hockey League (2025)
After taking over from Marc Crawford behind the ZSC Lions bench at the end of December, head coach Marco Bayer achieved an historic success less than two months later.
In the 2025 CHL final on 18 February, Sven Andrighetto scored twice as the host Lions beat Sweden’s Farjestad 2-1. Named the CHL MVP, the veteran Swiss national team member led all CHL scorers with 10 goals and 22 points. Zurich’s Swiss Life Arena was sold out with 12,000 fans on hand.
ZSC Lions capture second straight Swiss title (2025)
Zurich’s Swiss NL team heated up at the right time again in the playoffs. After defeating EHC Kloten in the quarter-finals and HC Davos in the semi-finals, the ZSC Lions earned their second straight national title by beating HC Lausanne, which was also their 2024 final opponent. This was the 11th championship in Lions history.
ZSC Lions star Sven Andrighetto is a two-time Olympian.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Amplifying the feeling of deja vu, Swedish forward Jesper Froden got Zurich’s winning goal for the second consecutive year. In June, Andrighetto, who had seven goals in Switzerland’s run to the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship silver medal, was named the IIHF’s Male Player of the Year.
This year, ZSC Lions are facing top-seeded HC Davos in the semi-finals as they bid for a three-peat.
ZSC Lions Frauen set new attendance record (2026)
On 30 January, an impressive 4,997 fans showed up to watch the Zurich team competing at Swiss Life Arena. Unfortunately for the hosts, EV Zug’s Luisa Waser scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win. Nonetheless, the record-setting crowd set a good 2026 tone for Swiss women’s hockey in general ahead of the bronze medal at February’s Milan Olympics.
Schelling inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame (2026)
Without the heroics of Zurich-born netminder Florence Schelling, Switzerland would not have captured the bronze medal at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship or the 2014 Olympics. Schelling, who retired after her fourth Winter Games in 2018, will officially enter the IIHF Hall of Fame in her hometown in May at a ceremony during the Men’s Worlds.
Now 37, she still holds the record for most career Olympic shutouts (five), and is tied with Finland’s Noora Raty for the most career Olympic wins (10).
This year, ZSC Lions are facing top-seeded HC Davos in the semi-finals as they bid for a three-peat.
ZSC Lions Frauen set new attendance record (2026)
On 30 January, an impressive 4,997 fans showed up to watch the Zurich team competing at Swiss Life Arena. Unfortunately for the hosts, EV Zug’s Luisa Waser scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win. Nonetheless, the record-setting crowd set a good 2026 tone for Swiss women’s hockey in general ahead of the bronze medal at February’s Milan Olympics.
Schelling inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame (2026)
Without the heroics of Zurich-born netminder Florence Schelling, Switzerland would not have captured the bronze medal at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship or the 2014 Olympics. Schelling, who retired after her fourth Winter Games in 2018, will officially enter the IIHF Hall of Fame in her hometown in May at a ceremony during the Men’s Worlds.
Now 37, she still holds the record for most career Olympic shutouts (five), and is tied with Finland’s Noora Raty for the most career Olympic wins (10).