Denmark has only played one game so far at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Men’s World Championship but it was a big one. The Danes’ 4-1 victory over Germany on Thursday all but assures they’ll be back in the top division next season.

“It was an amazing game,” said goaltender Anton Wilde, who stopped 31 of 32 German shots in the game. “The team really put it together, worked hard and showed that we want to play in the A group, so that was a great team effort.”

Asked about which of the saves he made in the game was most difficult, Wilde replied, “Honestly, it’s tough to say. I don’t really remember. I think that 2-on-1 was maybe important in the second period (when the game was tied). The game could have ended way differently if they’d scored.”

Wilde’s teammates weren’t shy about giving credit where credit is due.

“What a player, and he’s a great guy too,” said team captain Martinus Schioldan, who has played with Wilde in Frederikshavn since childhood. “I have no words to describe him. He shows up when we need him. It’s incredible.”

“He showed it last year too,” said defenceman Emil Jakobsen. “He’s a great goalie and he steps up when the team needs him. He was the main reason we won this game.”

Wilde, Jakobsen and Schioldan are the three leaders on this Danish team. They were all on the team last year that won the U18 World Championship Division I Group A in Hungary to earn their way into this tournament. They also all played for Denmark at last winter’s IIHF World Junior Championship in Minnesota.

“You get some good memories and you learn a lot from those tournaments, so we try to take those experiences and give them to the other guys in the group,” said Jakobsen, who plays for Brynas in the top Swedish junior league. “I think it helps all of them.”

“I just try to do my thing,” Schioldan said about being the team captain. “I think I’m a leader. I try to do what I can do and I know my teammates are going to help me, but I have a bit more experience in these kinds of games, so I try to help the other guys do what they’ve gotta do.”

For the Danes, it was interesting in that they had to start off the tournament with the game that was probably going to be most important for them. On one hand, they were rested, whereas Germany had played the day before. On the other hand, it did seem to take them a while to get into the game as the Germans had them back on their heels at the start.

“Yeah, of course it’s a tough thing to do, but we came with the mindset to show we belong here and I think we did,” said Schioldan, who, like Jakobsen, plays in Sweden. His club is HV71.

“They had a hard game against Sweden yesterday, but I also think that we came on strong, and we showed that we can play with them,” said Jakobsen. “We hadn’t played any top-division U18 games yet, so we maybe had some nerves in the stomach, but we came back strong in the second and third periods – I thought we were the better team.”

The more even-keeled Wilde offered a calmer perspective.

“I just took it like a normal game – just a different team. It doesn’t really matter what the game means; we just have to win it.”

About the unlucky bounce off one of his defender’s skates that led to Germany’s 1-0 goal in the early minutes, the Danish goalie said, “I don’t really worry about stuff like that. Just refocus and be in the present.”

With the score 1-1 in the second period, Jakobsen assisted on the eventual game-winning goal on the power play, perfectly teeing up an Andreas Kloeve one-timer.

“It was a good PP,” said Jakobsen. “We got a little lucky between the legs but it was a good play for the whole group.”

Predictably, the Germans came with a mighty push in the third period, looking for the equalizer, but Wilde and his teammates were equal to the task, with the Danish defenders doing a decent job of keeping most shots to the outside.

“The whole team played a good 60 minutes,” said Jakobsen. “Our goalie was just outstanding – he made some great saves and really helped us get the win, but I also think we helped him get some … not so easy shots, but he definitely got some help there.”

A pair of empty-net goals in the dying minutes finally relieved the pressure.

“It was amazing, standing on the bench and seeing the happiness in each other’s eyes,” Jakobsen smiled. “Also on the ice. It’s a feeling you can’t describe.”

‘It was such a big relief,” Wilde agreed. “It was kind of game over there. It was such a nice feeling. I just couldn’t wait to get off the ice and celebrate with the guys.”

That’s one game down for Denmark, but it was just the first of four in five days, and the opponents will get tougher. Next up is the USA on Friday.

“We have to get our energy back for tomorrow,” said Jakobsen. “We have four more games, maybe more, that we have to focus on, so we’re not done yet.”

Said Schioldan, “We’re just going to try to keep the energy, keep moving and doing our thing, and we’ll see what happens.”