On the second Sunday of the title match in Riga, there were four matches in the program. While Sweden and Canada registered significant victories, host Latvia battled against Finland for a point that could ultimately be decisive.
The afternoon games were played by Belarus and Switzerland as well as Italy and Canada. The Confederates had no problem with Belarus and clearly won 6–0. Servet Geneva striker Joel Vermin showed up with a brace and an assist. Leonardo Genoni defused all 20 Belarusian shots on goal. At the same time Canada celebrated a 7: 1 success against Italy – this was their third consecutive success after two defeats at the start for the Maple Leafs. First attack formation Canada gave a strong performance: Andrew Mangiapen (2G, 2A), Adam Heinrich (1G, 2A) and Connor Brown (4A) combined to collect eleven point scorers. Canada will play their last group game tomorrow, Tuesday, against none other than the leaders of Finland – a must-win game for the Canadians.
In the evening, Latvia fought for a valuable point in a duel with Finland after being left behind twice. Twice it was Martins Dzierkels who was able to match the Finnish leadership. In overtime, Florida Panthers prospect Anton Lundell made the decision. It was the fourth goal in the tournament for the youth center. Tomorrow Latvia will play their last match against Germany. Sveds advanced to fourth place in Group A with a 3–1 win over Slovakia. Trey Kroner took a 0-1 draw and dueled with the Russian selection today.
IIHF World Championship – Group A
Belarus: Switzerland – 0: 6 (0: 2 | 0: 2 | 0: 2)
tore:
0: 1 Bertschi (1.), 0: 2 Vermin (19.), 0: 3 Andrigato (22.), 0: 4 Hoffmann (33.), 0: 5 Vermin (53.), 0: 6 Herzog ( 58./SH)
Sweden: Slovakia – 3: 1 (0: 1 | 1: 0 | 2: 0)
tore:
0: 1 Sehlrich (20.), 1: 1 Sorensen (31.), 2: 1 Olofsson (52./pp), 3: 1 Lundestrom (60./N, SH)
IIHF World Championship – Group B
Italy: Canada – 1: 7 (0: 4 | 1: 2 | 0: 1)
tore:
0: 1 Perfect (3.), 0: 2 Mangiapen (9.), 0: 3 Stecher (12.), 0: 4 Heinrich (12.), 1: 4 Miseli (31.), 1: 5 Mangiapen ( 35.), 1: 6 Comtois (38./pp), 1: 7 Piri (56.)
Finland: Latvia – 3: 2 NV (1: 1 | 1: 0 | 0: 1 | 1: 0)
tore:
1: 0 Manalannan (4th), 1: 1 Dizirkal (19th). 2: 1 Pakarinan (34th), 2: 2 Diskerkals (58th), 3: 2 Lundale (45th)
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