The quarter-finalists are now clear! The Swiss beat the Finns to decide the fate of the Czechs. Who will they face and what are the pairings for the playoffs?

The last duel of the main groups decided the last quarter-finalists. The Swiss defeated the struggling Finns 3:1 to decide the Czech Republic’s opponent. Read on to find out who our team will face and how all the playoff pairings will look like.

The Finns entered the duel with Switzerland as a sure quarter-finalist only thanks to Austria’s surprising loss to the already relegated Great Britain. Otherwise, the Finns are not really having a good tournament and confirmed it in their last group match.

The game was also very important for the Czech hockey team, who lost in overtime 4:3 to Canada in the afternoon game. The Finns had to defeat the Swiss to avoid a match with the United States and go to the more acceptable Germany.

The opening period did not offer a goal, although the players with the Helvetic cross on their chest had two power play opportunities. Kapanen and Granlund were sent off. However, the Swiss goal machine only got going in the second period.

The game was decided by the last quarterfinal pairing

Fiala and Glauser scored within two minutes and twelve seconds. The Finnish depression took on new dimensions. The Finns tried to skate, but the Czech tournament is just not going their way. A glimmer of hope came from a power play goal by Innala.

At the beginning of the last period, the veteran Ambühl could have increased the lead of the Alpine country, but after a great forechecking in the face of Säteri he failed. The Finns couldn’t create any more chances thanks to the great defense of the middle zone by their opponent.

The Swiss knew very well what they were playing for and their performance looked like that. Patrick Fischer’s team didn’t want to miss the opportunity to finish second in Group A behind a dominant Canada. And Fiala confirmed this fact with his second goal – 3:1.

And so it is clear. In the quarterfinals, the Czechs will play the United States and the Swiss will face Germany. The Finns will face Sweden in the Nordic derby and Slovakia will face Canada.

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