The Finns suffered an overtime loss in their second game of the tournament when they were beaten by Kazakhstan but bounced back against the hosts after an overtime success.

Saku Maenalanen gave Finland the lead before an equalising goal from Mārtiņš Dzierkals brought Latvia level. 

Iiro Pakarinen restored Finland's lead early in the second period before Dzierkals levelled again for Latvia with six minutes of regular time remaining.

Five minutes into overtime Anton Lundell struck to give Finland a win that puts them on top of the standings with 15 points, three points ahead of closest challengers the United States.

In the evening's other game, Slovakia missed a chance to take a clear lead at the top of Group A after they were beaten 3-1 by Sweden.

Peter Cehlarik gave Slovakia the lead late in the first period, before Sweden bounced back courtesy of goals from Marcus Sorensen, Victor Olofsson and Isac Lundestrom.

Three teams now have 12 points in Group A - Switzerland, who are top, ROC, who are second with a game in hand and Slovakia in third.

In Group B, Canada recorded their third straight victory to continue their recovery from their poor start to the tournament.

Canada were in high-scoring form as they thrashed Italy 7-1 in a convincing display.

Victory boosted Canada's hopes of reaching the next round of the tournament as they sit fifth, one place outside the qualification spots.

Switzerland are up to third in Group A after they blanked Belarus 6-0 to bounce back from yesterday's defeat to the ROC team.

A further four matches are due to take place when the tournament resumes tomorrow.