However, in a 5–1 victory against Olympic participating Slovakia, Canada was challenged more than the result suggested. Both teams offered a lucrative game to 3’585 spectators in Helsinki, with many attractions especially in the middle third.

While the Slovaks could not get past strong Canadian keeper Logan Thompson – for example, he made a spectacular save against Michael Ivan in the 35th minute – the Canadian scored to make Pierre-Luc Dubois 2–1 (27th) and 3-1 (38th). The Winnipeg Jets forward has already scored four goals in the tournament, taking a 2-1 advantage over Beijing Olympic MVP youngster Juraj Slafkowski.

After Cole Silinger’s 4:1 68 seconds into the final segment, there was no longer any doubt about the outcome of the game. The Slovak suffered a second consecutive defeat after a 2-1 loss to Germany on Saturday. On Wednesday, he met Switzerland.

Germany and Finland win

Germany is also approaching the quarter-finals in the Swiss group. The Germans defeated the strong French 3:2. For Germany, Leo Födrel scored the winning goal in the 46th minute. Pföderl has already got five scorer points in the first three matches.

So far things are going well for the Finnish hosts in Group B in Tampere. Wins against Norway (5–0) and Latvia (2–1) were followed by another very solid performance against the USA (4–1). Again the Finns conceded only one goal. He was successful in majority three times. A five-minute penalty against American Austin Watson (for a check to the head) triggered the initial early decision. During this majority, the Finns rose from 1–0 to 3–0 within 54 seconds through Servatians Valtteri Filipula and Sakari Maninen.

Latvia also secured their first win in Group B with a 3–2 win over Norway. Lausanne’s Ronald Kenins and Geneve-Cervet’s Sandys Mons each received assists from the balusters.