Group A play opened up on the second day of the Olympic men's hockey tournament on Thursday. Switzerland, led by captain Roman Josi, looked to open up strongly against France. They did just that, taking a 4-0 victory in the contest.
In the process of securing the victory, Switzerland goaltender Leonardo Genoni made Olympic history, according to the broadcast.
With 26 saves on 26 shots, the 38-year-old Genoni became the oldest netminder to have a shutout in the Olympics in the NHL era.
Genoni, who has played almost his entire professional career in the Swiss NL, has stepped up on the international stage multiple times before. He helped lead Switzerland to silver medals in the 2018, 2024, and 2025 IIHF World Championships. In the 2025 games, he was dominant.
“Genoni, the goalie behind Switzerland winning silver medals at the past two IIHF World Championships, was named Most Valuable Player of the 2025 tournament, when he was 5-0-2 with a 0.99 goals-against average, .953 save percentage and four shutouts in seven games,” according to NHL.com.
While the Swiss goaltender stole the show in the game, he was not the only impressive player on the ice during the victory. Timo Meier, of the New Jersey Devils, scored two goals in the victory, both of them coming in the third period. On the first one, he was assisted by the captain, Josi. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Kings forward Kevin Fiala got the assist on the second.
Meanwhile, Antoine Keller, a former draft pick of the Washington Capitals, was phenomenal in the other goal for France. He stopped 39 of 43 shots, but it was not enough to secure the win.
Switzerland will hope to get a repeat performance from Genoni as they face the gold medal favorites, Team Canada, on Friday. Meanwhile, France will try to rebound as it collides with Czechia earlier the same day.
