Timo Meier the Difference Maker in 5-2 Swiss Win Over Belarus

Belarus' bid at their first win of the 2018 World Hockey Championships saw their fourth straight loss instead, with Switzerland putting on a big third-period performance to win 5-2 on Wednesday in Denmark.

After allowing 17 goals in three games, and scoring just twice, Belarus decided to make a rare mid-tournament coaching change by firing Dave Lewis in favour of Sergei Pushkov. In danger of relegation, Belarus got off to a bad start on Wednesday when Nino Niederreiter danced around multiple defenders before sending the puck on net. Joel Vermin touched the puck just before it crossed the line, beating Mikhail Karnaukhov in close to make it 1-0 at 1:37.

But Belarus would get a bit of redemption. At 5:54, Charles Linglet waited long enough before sending the puck out to Geoff Platt in front of the crease. Platt tapped the puck past Reto Berra rather quickly, knotting the battle at one goal each.

At 10:46, Belarus put themselves ahead for the first time in the tournament. This time, team captain Alexander Pavlovich scored his second goal of the tournament after picking up Yevgeni Kovyrshin's rebound in front before scooping up the puck over Berra, putting Belarus up by one.

A bad rebound from Karnaukhov allowed the Swiss to get back into the game. At 18:40, Timo Meier's wrist shot would get stopped by Belarus' goaltender, only to have Karnaukhov kick it right to Sven Andrighetto. Andrighetto would fire the puck on net from a tough angle, but Karnaukhov didn't get to the post in time and the puck would bounce off him and in the net from a tough angle, with Switzerland tying the game at two.

The Swiss had a scary moment midway through the contest. Meier, who joined the Swiss for his first-ever men's national team game after the San Jose Sharks were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights, was hit hard in the knee by Vladimir Denisov and laid on the ice for a few seconds. Meier would stick in the game, to the delight of the Swiss faithful who saw their team playing an uninspired effort.

Just as time was winding down in the second period, the Swiss regained their lead. Vermin would get his second of the game after getting his own rebound after originally taking the feed from Meier, sending the puck between Karnaukhov's legs to make it 3-2 for the team in red.

At 2:29 in the third, the Swiss got another one through Karnaukhov's five-hole. This time, Enzo Corvi blew the puck past Belarus' netminder and in for the dagger, putting the game too out of reach for the winless Belarusian squad. 

The Swiss weren't done. Meier would score his first men's team goal at 6:44 on the power play in the third after Andrighetto made a nice deke around a sprawling Belarusian defenceman, only to get stopped on the initial shot. Meier was there to pick the rebound, standing all alone to the right of the net before sending one past Karnaukhov to make it 5-2, a lead they'd never relinquish.

The Swiss will get a long break before challenging Rusia on Saturday night at 20:15 local time in Copenhagen. Belarus' tournament gets even more important as they hope to steal a win against the Czech Republic on Friday before playing Austria in their most important game going forward on Saturday evening.

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