Canada2 – Italy veterans 6:1 (end) | USA – Kazakhstan 4:3 (after OT) | Sweden2 – Slovakia2 3:1 (end)
Finland – Switzerland 3:2 (1:0 after SO)
after shootout (1:0)
Finland
3:2 (1:0, 1:0, 0:2)
Switzerland
Friday 16.05.2014, 19:45 • Minsk Arena, Minsk • World Championship
     
    That turned out to be a real thriller, and with winning the shootout Finland have beaten Switzerland 3-2! Both teams were worthy of the victory today, we were simply treated to some fantastic hockey tonight. The Finns raced into a two goal lead with goals from Tommi Kivisto and Olli Jokinen, but Switzerland pegged them back with third period goals from Reto Suri and Roman Josi. In the shootout there was only one man who scored and it was Iiro Pakarinen of Finland, giving his team two points and leaving the Swiss with only one. Thanks for following the game with us, and see you again soon for more breathtaking action from the 2014 IIHF World Championships! (22:16:58)
     
    Game over.
     
    The winning penalty shot is scored by IIRO PAKARINEN!
     
    Iiro Pakarinen can win it here for Finland, and he does! He beats Reto Berra for power into the left hand corner and it's game over!
     
    Pekka Rinne now makes a stunning blocker save! As the Swiss player waited for him to go down it seemed impossible to miss, but the Finn makes a beautiful stop!
     
    Petri Kontiola tries his luck, but as he waits for Reto Berra to commit he takes too long and the netminder still makes the save!
     
    The Swiss now go first, but Kevin Fiala is denied by the netminder's body!
     
    Reto Suri can win it here for Switzerland, but Pekka Rinne denies him excellently! We're into sudden death!
     
    Erik Haula skates in for Finland, decides to go right up close but Reto Berra gets the better of him!
     
    Denis Hollenstein also now fails to score, he went for power but completely missed the net!
     
    Jori Lehtera drives in with real pace, cuts to the backhand but Reto Berra makes an excellent pad save!
     
    Damien Brunner goes now for Switzerland, he drifts to the right and off Pekka Rinne the puck trickles just wide!
     
    Jarkko Immonen steps up first for the Finns, but he wrists hard into the left hand post!
     
    Finland are to shoot first!
     
    Start of shootout.
     
    We are indeed off to the shootout! We've been treated to an excellent game, and it's just a lottery now as to who will win. In any case the winner will get two points, whereas the loser will still skate off with one.
     
    Statistics after overtime-

    Shots on target- 23-26
    Saves made by the goalkeeper- 24-21
    Penalty minutes- 2-4
     
    65:00
    Overtime finished.
     
    64:51
    Josi! Off the faceoff draw Roman Josi cracks a fierce effort wide of the right hand post just before the buzzer went off!
     
    64:39
    Roman Josi drifts to the left, looks to feed someone on the crease but the netminder sweeps it up into his glove. With only a few seconds left penalty shots are now looming!
    Commentary by

    Shaun Nicolaides

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 6. Kivisto (Marttinen, Salomaki), 33. Jokinen (Haula), dec. p.s. Pakarinen – 42. Suri (Fiala), 57. Josi (Romy, Suri)

    Finland: Rinne (Koskinen)- Mantyla, Hietanen, Lehtera, Kontiola, Palola- Ohtamaa, Karalahti, Haula, Komarov, Jokinen- Kivisto, Lajunen, Pakarinen, Immonen, Salomaki- Marttinen, Huhtala, J Sallinen, T Sallinen, Savinainen
    Switzerland: Berra (Genoni)- Schlumpf, Josi, Brunner, Romy, Moser- Weber, Seger, Ambuhl, Cunti, Hollenstein- Kukan, Blum, Schappi, Stancescu, Rufenacht- Grossman, Pluss, Froidevaux, Fiala, Suri
    Referees: Frano, Jerabek, Dremelj, Dahmen, Schrader, Hull