They went end-to-end, fired shots from everywhere, full tilt. The goalies flipped and flopped robbing one shooter after another. In the end, Canada beat Slovakia 5-1 in what can only be described as one of the best preliminary-round games in recent World Championship memory.

In a hard-fought, entertaining affair, Germany earned its first three points of the 2022 Worlds with a 2-1 victory over Slovakia on Saturday night in Helsinki.

In its Friday opener in Helsinki, Slovakia picked up where it left off at the 2022 Olympics with a 4-2 victory over France. Pavol Regenda led the way with two goals.