IIHF World Championships roundup: Hosts Finland and Latvia get wins as Germany beat Austria
Group A
Hungary 1 Finland 7
Finland smashed seven past Hungary to move up the Group A table leaving their opponents staring down elimination from the tournament in Tampere.
The Finnish started well, scoring through Mikko Lehtonen in the 13th minute of the first period for the only goal of the opening salvo before his teammate and New York Rangers' forward Kaapo Kakko added the second during a powerplay just three minutes into the second period.
Hungary did get one back soon after through Balazs Sebok, leaving it evenly poised going into the final part of the game.
That is where Finland dominated, netting five times in the 20 minutes - first through experienced defender Atte Ohtamaa and then Teemu Hartikainen with both coming in the opening three minutes of the period.
Soon after, Kasperi Kapanen scored his first of the match and the fifth for his side before Waltteri Merela and Joel Armia added two more late on.
Check out the full game summary with Flashscore.
Austria 2 Germany 4
Germany outlasted neighbours Austria to win their Group A match 4-2 to move up to fifth in Group A.
Nico Sturm got the scoring started for the Germans in the fifth minute before their opponents levelled seven minutes later as Bernd Wolf netted.
There was only one goal in the second period, this time through Wojtek Stachowiak putting the Germans 2-1 to the good.
Lukas Hadum did pull one back for Austria and as they pushed for the leveller, Germany netted into an empty net through Sturm to seal the game and give his side a second win in a row.
Check out the game summary with Flashscore.
Group B
Latvia 3 Slovenia 2
Latvia continued their good run of form as co-hosts of the IIHF World Championships with a 3-2 victory over Slovenia in Riga.
Rihards Bukarts got the ball rolling for the Latvians in the 12 minute thanks to good work from Andris Dzerins and Miks Indrasis. A setback followed in the second period as Anze Kuralt levelled for Slovenia. But they were behind again soon after, Kaspars Daugavins netted during a powerplay.
Then, in the 18th minute of the second period, Roberts Bukarts extended the lead to two with an assist from Dzerins.
Slovenia did their best to get back in the game through Miha Verlic 13 seconds before the second break, but it was the Latvians who held on for an important victory on home ice.
Check out the full game summary with Flashscore.
Kazakhstan 4 Slovakia 3 (AOT)
Kazakhstan claimed a 4-3 shootout victory over Slovakia - their second of its kind in the tournament - to keep their slim chances of progressing into the next round alive.
The Slovaks opened the scoring through Patrik Koch in the first period before a second-period blitz of three goals in four minutes from the Kazakhs gave them a commanding lead in the match.
Into the third period, and there was no panic from Slovakia as Richard Panik got one back and they were back level as Pavol Regenda netted with just three minutes left in the game.
No side was able to score in overtime and it was Kazakhstan who prevailed in the shootout, winning it 4-1.
