Finland blanks Latvia, heads into world junior quarterfinals with momentum

Benjamin Rautiainen had a goal and an assist while Petteri Rimpenen earned a 28-save shutout as Finland capped its preliminary round at the world junior hockey championship with a 3-0 win over Latvia on Tuesday in Ottawa.

The result ensured Finland would finish no lower than third in Group A, and could finish as high as second depending on the result of the day's final game between Canada and the United States.

Finland finished with eight points, while Canada and the U.S. had seven entering their game.

Latvia, which entered the game a point behind Finland, finished fourth in the group and will face Sweden in Thursday's quarterfinals.

Jesse Kiiskinen and Kasper Halttunen also scored for Finland.

Switzerland 3, Kazakhstan 1

Earlier, Simon Meier and Ludvig Johnson each had a goal and an assist as Switzerland beat Kazakhstan 3-1 and locked up the last remaining quarterfinal spot.

Robin Antenen also scored for the Swiss, who came into the game without a point from their first three contests but moved past Kazakhstan into fourth spot in Group B.

Kirill Lyapunov scored for Kazakhstan, which entered the game with a tenuous hold on fourth in the group after picking up a point in a wild 5-4 overtime loss to Slovakia on Monday.

Switzerland will face the winner of Group A in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Canada faces the defending-champion United States later Tuesday with first place in Group A on the line.

Kazakhstan faces Germany in the relegation game, with the loser demoted to the Division I Group A tournament for 2026.

Sweden 4, Czech Republic 2

Later Tuesday, Sweden finished first in Group B with a gritty 4-2 win over the Czech Republic. Sweden won all four of its preliminary round games.

Herman Traff scored twice for Sweden, while Anton Wahlberg and Felix Unger Sorum added singles.

Petr Sikora and Eduard Sale scored for the Czech Republic, which finished second in Group B with three wins and a loss.