Finland beat Italy 3-0.
Image: dpa
Finland could easily prevail against the bottom of the table. Host Latvia, on the other hand, is under pressure, the decision to participate in the quarter-finals could be against the German team.
FBefore the duel with Germany on Saturday at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Riga, innland took over the lead in Group B. The defending champion won on Thursday evening easily and unspectacularly 3-0 (2-0, 1-0, 0-0) against Italy, who was still bottom of the table, with no points. After four games, the Finns overtook Germany and the USA (both 9) by ten points, who had previously missed hosts Latvia the second defeat in the tournament.
The Latvians were defeated by the USA 2: 4 (2: 2, 0: 2, 0: 0) and are therefore under pressure with regard to a possible quarter-finals participation. The World Cup host is Germany’s last preliminary round opponent on Tuesday, which also has no play on Friday.
In group A, the Czech Republic won an important game against Sweden 4: 2 (0: 2, 0: 0, 4: 0). With four goals in the final third, the Czechs scored the first three-point in their fourth game, which was urgently needed in view of a quarter-finals. Ex-world champions Sweden, on the other hand, have to worry about participating in the knockout round two days after the furious 7-0 win against Switzerland. The Swiss rehabilitated with an 8: 1 (1: 1, 4: 1, 3: 0) against Slovakia and after four games are tied with four points with Russia and Slovakia at the top of the table.
.
