Swiss knocked out of world hockey playoffs

Finland’s 4-3 victory on Monday against Kazakhstan sealed the Swiss team’s fate, leaving it without enough points to advance in Group B.

Following six games in the preliminary round, Switzerland is in sixth place in the group with seven points from just two wins, one against Germany (3-2) on May 14th and the other against Kazakhstan on Saturday (6-2).

Switzerland play Latvia on Tuesday but a win would not be enough to allow the team to qualify for the playoffs.

The elimination is bitter for Swiss fans after their team made it to the finals in Stockholm last year, losing to Sweden.

Switzerland started out the preliminary round by losing to Russia 0-5 on May 9th and subsequently lost to USA (2-3), host country Belarus (3-4) and Finland (2-3).

By contrast, France has surprised observers by qualifying for the playoffs by finishing in the top four of Group A, with wins that include an upset overtime victory (3-2) against Canada after penalty shots.

Other countries assured playoff spots include Sweden, Canada, Russia and Belarus.