Prince George Cougars' defenceman Martin Marincin and Team Slovakia are off to the quarterfinals at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship after defeating Switzerland 5-4 in pool B in Calgary.
Trailing 4-2 early in the third period Slovakia scored three unanswered goals, including one from Marincin, to surge past the Swiss and secure the final playoff berth in the pool. Slovakia will face Finland in the quarterfinal after the Fins secured second place in pool A with a 4-0 win over the Czech Republic.
Marincin, 19, is playing in the tournament for the third time with Slovakia.
Russia and Sweden play the final round-robin game of the tournament tonight, which will determine the winner of pool B. Russia (3-0) leads Sweden (2-0-1) by one point heading into the game. The winner of tonight's game advances to the semifinal, while the loser will face the Czechs in the quarterfinal.
The quarterfinal games are Monday in Calgary with the winners advancing into Tuesday's semifinal games.
Canada (3-0) had already secured top spot and a semifinal berth before their New Year's Eve game with the USA (1-2). The USA, along with Switzerland, Latvia and Denmark will battle to remain in the main tournament next year. A new rule implemented for this year's tournament ensures only one team will drop from the A-group rather than the bottom two teams.
After one period at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Canada led the USA 3-0 on goals from Mark Stone, captain Jaden Schwartz and Prince George's Brett Connolly with his fourth goal of the tournament.
