Swiss finish with a win

Switzerland's Thomas Ziegler homing in on the Latvian net Keystone

Switzerland's disappointing ice hockey world championships campaign ended on a high note when the team grabbed their first points of the qualification round with a victory over Latvia.

With little to play for apart from the dubious honour of not finishing bottom of the table, the two sides produced a ten-goal thriller.

“This was a difficult game, but I think our guys just wanted it a little bit more in the end,” said Swiss coach Ralph Krueger. “For us, it was an important game. Our young team needed the win so we could go into the summer with some positive memories.”

After a goalless first period, the game exploded with four goals in ten minutes. Sandy Jeannin, Martin Pluss and Adrian Wichser all found the back of the net to give the Swiss a 3-1 lead going into the final period.

The Latvians levelled the match in the 50th minute, but Krueger’s side finished strongest, with Jeannin completing a hat-trick in the final minute.

“It was tough, because the equalising goal came after a bench penalty, so it was a bit dumb,” said Swiss defenceman Mark Streit after the game.

“But we have great character on our team and nobody gave up and we just kept working.”

swissinfo with agencies