Sweden set the tone for the proceedings very early on with two quick goals within the first minute of the match.

Switzerland managed to recover from this early shock and scored a couple of first-period goals, however, Sweden still took a 5-2 lead into the second period.

Sweden increased the intensity in the second period and the Swiss could not cope as the world champions score three more goals, giving them an 8-3 lead going into the last 20 minutes.

Switzerland again failed to cope with the Swedish pressure and were ripped apart in the final period, conceding another eight goals to give Sweden a 12-3 win.

Sweden’s Scandinavian neighbours Finland made similarly easy work of their opponents as saw off Latvia in their final group match of the competition.

It was clear from the start that Finland were going to dominate the game and they were soon 4-0 up after just 20 minutes.

The Finns kept the pressure up against their opponents in the second period, however, the Latvians did manage to get on the scoresheet through Diana Isjomina.

Although the scoreline was already incredibly one-sided at the start of the third period, 8-1, the match got even worse for Latvia as they had three two-minute penalties awarded against them, giving Finland three powerplays.

Finland did not take full advantage of the three powerplays but still managed to find the back of the net in two of them to make the final score 12-1.

Germany’s poor record at the tournament continued as they lost their match against Poland by a 5-0 scoreline.

Goals from Zuzanna Kryzywak, Weronika Noga and Justyna Krzywak had ensured that Poland ended the first period 3-0 up.

However, Germany put up much more of a fight in the second 20 minutes with their defence holding firm despite constant Polish pressure.

Unfortunately for the Germans, the momentum shifted back in Poland’s favour in the final period with the Poles scoring a goal on the counter-attack before adding another during a powerplay.

There was a much closer match in the all-Asian tie between Japan and Thailand.

Thailand started the game brightly, scoring through Tikhamporn Sakunpithak in the third minute.

Japan, however, pulled a goal back just eight minutes later to make sure they entered the second period on level terms.

The second period was also quiet with Japan’s Yui Goto’s scoring the only goal of it, giving her side a 2-1 lead going into the final period.

The last 20 minutes saw both goalkeepers pull off some fine saves but, in the end, it was Japan who asserted their dominance, eventually running out 5-2 winners.

The final two matches of the day saw the Czech Republic inflict a heavy 8-0 defeat on Norway and Denmark thrash the United States 6-2.

Tomorrow sees the start of the knockout phase of the tournament with the following fixtures set to be played:

Poland v Estonia; Japan v Australia; Latvia v Denmark; Singapore v Thailand; Germany v Slovakia and Norway v United States.