DE 
The game started very well for Switzerland. 79 seconds in, Philipp Kurashev was the first to react on a rebound after Nico Hischier had deflected a shot by Timo Meier, and shot the puck into a wide-open net. Halfway through the period, Thomas Larkin was sent to the penalty box, and Roman Josi scored with a beautiful snipe to the top right corner. After "20 minutes", the Swiss team sat in a comfortable position, outshooting Italy 18-2.
Going into the second period, the whole affair became more sluggish. Italy actually created chances in front of Leonardo Genoni, but the netminder was able to shut them down. On the other end, Damian Clara made save after save, some very impressive ones, to keep the host nation in the game.
The eventual "salvation" for Switzerland came five minutes into the third period, on the powerplay. After the initial face-off, a quick passing play saw Nico Hischier one-time the puck past Clara to make it 3-0. No more goals were scored after that, which means the Swiss squad advances to the quarterfinal. It will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, at 18:10 (CET), with Finland as the opponent.
(F, 33)
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