(Riga) Nino Niederreiter scored his fourth goal as the Swiss went a perfect four-game record at the World Hockey Championship on Thursday, this time beating Slovakia 4-2.
Switzerland leads Group B with 12 points, one more than Canada. The two countries will cross swords on Saturday.
The Slovaks were the first to score against Switzerland, whose differential is plus 17.
Third in Group B with 10 points, the Czech Republic scored six straight goals from the end of the second half, including five unanswered in the third period, en route to a 6-2 win over Slovenia.
Dominik Kubalik had three goals and an assist.
He netted the Czechs’ first goal at 18:19 in the middle period, reducing Slovenia’s lead to 2-1.
PHOTO ROMAN KOKSAROV, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The win saw Czechia temporarily slip into second place in the Group B standings, one point behind Canada.
Kubalik then tied the game in the fourth minute of the third period and Roman Cervenka broke the deadlock just 73 seconds later.
Kubalik completed his hat trick by slotting the puck into an empty net with just over two minutes left in regulation time.
Michal Kempny also contributed to the Czech victory with a one-goal performance and two assists.
Miha Verlic and Jan Urbas scored the goals for Slovenia in about four minutes between them, midway through the first half. Urbas added an assist.
In Group A in Tampere, Finland, Sweden edged Hungary 7-1.
Lucas Raymond was one of Sweden’s offensive pillars (3-1-0-0 -11 points) with one goal and two assists. He got the support of former Canadian Jacob De La Rose, author of a brace, and defender Henrik Tommernes, who amassed four assists.
With the victory, Sweden moved within one point of the United States, who have a perfect record of four victories in regulation.
Germany caused some upset by beating Denmark, 6-4, earning their first win of the tournament.