Final day of preliminary round action features battles for first place and seeding

"While the games on the schedule will all be for knockout-round seeding, as Denmark and Germany are both locked into the relegation round game, there are still some intriguing matchups to discuss. The action gets started at 12:00 PM CST when Switzerland plays Slovakia at the Grand Casino Arena; the winner of this encounter will earn third place in Group A and a matchup with either Finland or Czechia, while the loser will play either Finland or Canada."

"While Czechia cannot finish in first given that they cannot exceed Canada's point total and that Canada has the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Czechs can still finish second with a win and a Finland loss to Canada. Finishing second would guarantee the Czechs a quarterfinal matchup with the winner of the Switzerland-Slovakia game, while a third place finish would set Czechia up for an encounter with either Sweden or the United States."

"At 5:00 PM CST, Sweden and the United States will do battle at the Grand Casino Arena. Considering that Sweden and the United States will both enter this matchup tied for the lead in Group A with nine points apiece, the winner of this game will finish first in Group A and play the fourth-place team in Group B in the first knockout round."

"While Finland is a point behind Canada in the Group A standings, a win of any kind would still put the Finns over Canada in the group standings. A loss could send Finland to third in the group if Czechia can make up the required points total through their game against Latvia. As for Canada, a win guarantees first in the group, while a loss would put Canada in second in the group standings."

Final Group A matches at the Grand Casino Arena will decide seeding and quarterfinal opponents. Switzerland vs Slovakia at 12:00 PM CST will award third place to the winner and set a matchup with either Finland or Czechia, while the loser will face either Finland or Canada. Czechia vs Latvia at 2:30 PM CST cannot produce a first-place Czech finish; a Czech win combined with a Finland loss to Canada would secure second and a quarterfinal versus the Switzerland-Slovakia winner. Sweden vs the United States at 5:00 PM CST will decide first place between the tied teams. Canada vs Finland at 7:30 PM CST can shift first and second between those teams and affect Czechia's standing.

Read at Puck Prose