It was a thriller from beginning to end, but in the end, Switzerland came out on top, with a 5-3 win. 
 
Norina Muller scored twice, and Amaya Iseli made 24 saves for Switzerland. Gabriela Lacna scored a hat-trick for Slovakia and Mariana Sumegova in Slovakia's goal made 20 saves.

"We had a lot of penalties today, but we fought as a team," Muller said.

"We thought we were going to win this game, and we got off to a good start, but it didn't go our way. We got a lot of powerplay, too, but we didn't move the puck enough, we have to be much better there," Slovakia coach Michal Kobezda said. 

Gameday Three is all about seeding. Who would meet whom in the quarterfinal? For the Swiss and the Slovaks, a win in their last group stage game would mean a third-place finish, which would pit them against the second-place team in Group A – most likely not the US. 
 
Both teams had lost their first games, albeit after valiant efforts – the Swiss even had a point from their OT loss to Czechia – but the name of the today’s game was simple. To quote Canadian rocker Bryan Adams: “Winning really is the only thing.”
 
Especially, since finishing higher in the group stage would also come handy in avoiding the relegation game. 
 
If the players were nervous about any of that, it certainly didn’t show. The first period was fast-paced and the teams traded chances, but both goalies stood tall.  Slovakia outshot Switzerland, thanks to their three powerplay opportunities, but Iseli continued her strong tournament in the Swiss goal. 
 
In the second period, Switzerland got into penalty trouble early on. Slovakia got to play with a two-player advantage for over a minute and a half, and they didn’t squander their opportunity. Nela Lopusanova quarterbacked the powerplay from the point. She sent the puck to Ema Tothova who found Gabriela Lacna at the far post, and she tapped it in for 1-0 at 1.31. 
 
With another 30 seconds shorthanded, Switzerland managed to get an offensive zone faceoff which Jael Manetsch won to Muller. Just as Sonja Inkamp stepped out of the penalty box, Muller snuck between two Slovak players and deked Sumegova to tie the game just 31 seconds after Slovakia’s first goal. 
 
And in the next shift, Muller did it again. This time she carried the puck into the zone, pushed herself past a Slovak defender, waited for Sumegova to hit the ice and fired a wrister topshelf to give Switzerland a 2-1 lead in the game. 

"I just saw that there was space, it came instinctively," Muller said. 
 
Slovakia had their chances, but Iseli in the Swiss net was flawless. With five minutes remaining in the period, Inkamp found her defense partner Laure Meriguet on the left, she took a step in from the blueline and fired a shot that was deflected off a Slovak player into the net at 14.32. 
 
Slovakia came back 1.22 into the third period, and the goal was all Nela Lopusanova. She chased the Swiss defenders around their zone, until she could grab the puck behind the net. She found Lacna once again at the right place in the right time, for another tap-in, to make it a one goal game. 

Two minutes later, Switzerland got a powerplay and a Swiss defender found Elisa Dalessi alone at the far post. Her deflection missed the net, but in the process, she got tangled up with Sumegova who couldn’t get up fast enough to stop Hannah Estermann at the other post when Dalessi sent her the puck to her off the board. Estermann had an easy job to slam the puck into an empty net for 4-2. 

"The goalie hit my skates and I fell but fortunately, I could make the pass from the ice, and I'm really proud that I kept playing," said Dalessi.

Livia Tschannen gave Switserland some breathing room with five minutes remaining with a quick wrister from up close. Slovakia came within two goals when Lacna scored her third of the game with 15 seconds remaining, a carbon copy of her two previous goals. 

"I¨ve never scored a hat trick in the national team before. The coach put me on powerplay today, and I got to the right spot at the right time. It's great to play with such great players, it's easy to play with them," said Lacna who had similar chances even before she scored her first goal. 

"My teammates just told me to keep patient, I'd get more chances, and they were right," she added with a smile. 

But in the end, it was a red and white pile of happy Swiss players that celebrated a victory.. 

"We play as a team, we play together, and in the locker room we're really a family," said Dalessi. "It was an important win for us because it'll keep us from the relegation game."

"We'll get another chance in the quarterfinal, and then maybe [the relegation game]. That's the way it goes," Slovak coach Kobezda said.