4. Germany (0-1; 0 points)
5. France (0-2; 0 points)
Japan joined Sweden and Italy at 1-0 in Group B with a win over France on Friday morning.
Japan broke away from a 1-1 deadlock in the third period through goals from Makoto Ito and Suzuka Maeda.
France pulled a goal back late on the power play with 12 seconds left in the contest, but it didn’t do enough to push the game to overtime.
France is now 0-2 with a -4 goal differential and it still has to play Sweden, the best team in Group B, so it’s likely the French are headed for an early elimination.
Sweden and Italy will break the tie at the top of Group B with a head-to-head meeting on Saturday. Japan faces Germany in Saturday’s other Group B contest.
