MINSK, Belarus (AP) Switzerland ended a three-game losing streak at the ice hockey world championship by beating Germany 3-2 on Wednesday.
Czech Republic shut out Italy 2-0.
Damien Brunner had a power play goal and an assist to lead the Swiss team - last year's runner-up - to its first victory after losses to Russia, the United States and Belarus.
''It was a really nice pass from (Roman) Josi, and I was a little bit lucky there was a little hole there,'' Brunner said about his slap shot. ''We found a way to win and that's important.''
Thomas Oppenheimer scored two goals for Germany.
''We were not as discipline as we needed to be,'' Germany coach Pat Cortina said. ''We made some bad decisions with the puck. Hopefully, we'll stay on track.''
Switzerland has three points in four games in Group B. Germany has five.
Jiri Sekac gave the Czechs a 1-0 lead in the second period, and Jaromir Jagr added an insurance goal in the third.
The Czechs outshot Italy 37-11 but goaltender Daniel Bellissimo made 35 saves.
Czech goalie Alexander Salak stopped 11 shots for the shutout.
The Czechs have six points in Group A in four games, while Italy has three. Sweden tops the group with eight points, one point ahead of Canada.
High-scoring Russia plays Kazakhstan in Group B later Wednesday, and Slovakia faces Norway in Group A.
