The fifth place game does not earn any team a medal, but this match is certainly meaningful for the two squads.
Before the tournament started, few pinned Switzerland for a deep tournament run. With a group that included Sweden, Finland, and the Czechs, many thought that the Swiss would fail to get out of the group stage and would be playing in the relegation round. However, the Swiss quickly changed everyone's mind after defeating Latvia 7-2.
When it came time for them to take on Sweden, Switzerland pushed the defending champions to the limit before losing; they did the same with Finland and the Czech Republic. The team was at its most impressive in their 4-3 shootout loss to Russia in the quarter finals. Switzerland's Christof Bertschy and Martin Ness erased two Russian leads before Sven Andrighetto gave the Swiss the advantage in the third. Russia scored late in the match to tie it and won it to the shootout. Despite the loss, Switzerland proved to be a tremendous force.
When the Swiss last faced the Czech Republic, the Czechs won 4-3 in Overtime. However these teams are headed in completely opposite directions. The Czechs won three matches in the group stage, but their quarter finals outing did not look promising. The United States scored seven times on them and gave up no goals in an embarrassing 7-0 defeat for teh Czechs.
Prediction: Switzerland is confident after their performance against Russia and will win 4-1.
Start Time: 8 AM EST