Men's ice hockey group stage concludes at Milan-Cortina

MILAN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The men's ice hockey preliminary round concluded with four games at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday, with Canada and the United States both winning to confirm direct berths in the quarterfinals.

Canada wrapped up Group A play with a dominant 10-2 win over France, extending its goal difference and strengthening its bid for the top overall seed in the quarterfinals.

In the other Group A game, Switzerland edged the Czech Republic 4-3 in overtime. Dean Kukan scored the winner after the Czech Republic forced extra time late in regulation. Despite losing forward Kevin Fiala to injury, Switzerland secured second place in the group.

The United States closed its Group C schedule with a 5-1 victory over Germany to finish unbeaten and claim the No. 2 overall seed for the quarterfinals. However, the Americans missed out on the top seed due to Canada's superior goal difference.

With the round-robin phase complete, Canada and the United States advanced directly to the quarterfinals along with Group B winner Slovakia and Group B runner-up Finland. The remaining qualified teams will contest qualification playoffs for the final four spots in the last eight.