TAMPERE, Finland (AP) — Host Finland bounced back from a first-half scare to beat Latvia 2-1 for a second win in two games at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday.
Mikael Granlund scored the power play winner with 2:52 left in the final period of the Group B match at Tampere. Rudolfs Balcers put Latvia ahead 1-0 in the first half and then Sakari Manninen equalized on the power play midway through the period. Manninen added an assist on Granlund’s goal.
Finland, second in last year’s tournament, shut out Norway 5-0 on Friday while Latvia lost 4-1 to the United States.
Germany bounced back from Canada the day before by beating Slovakia 2-1 in Group A in Helsinki. Matthias Plachta and Leonhard Pfoderl put the Germans ahead 2-0, Kristian Pospisil responding with the only Slovak goal.
In Pool B, Sweden had just three lines available in Game 1 against Austria as the team awaited NHL playoff results to complete the roster with players from the Swedish league, including the playoffs didn’t end until Thursday.
Joel Kellman, Max Friberg and Joakim Nordstrom each contributed a goal to a 3-1 victory against a team which, along with France, replaced the Russian and Belarusian teams.
In their opening match, the Czech Republic beat Great Britain 5-1 in another Group B match. Matej Blumel led the Czechs with two goals and one assist.
Also in Group A, Joachim Blichfeld had a hat trick and Nikolaj Ehlers had three assists for Denmark to start the tournament beating Kazakhstan 9-1.
A three-goal lead after the first half, with Jonas Siegenthaler set to assist all, propelled Switzerland to a 5-2 victory over Italy in their opening Group A match.
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