The favourites thumped their opponents 16-2 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, laying down a marker for their rivals.

Ten players and eight staff members from the German team had been released from quarantine in time for the match, joining the six players who had previously been cleared for action.

Three of the eight players who tested positive for COVID-19 last week are still in quarantine until tomorrow, while the remainder must continue quarantining until at least Tuesday (December 29).

One unnamed player tested positive for COVID-19 in the latest round of tests and must remain in quarantine until at least January 4, the day before the tournament is due to conclude.

Kaiden Guhle opened the scoring for Canada less than two minutes in and, by the end of the first period, the hosts were up 5-1.

An impressive 10 players got on the scoresheet for Canada, with the standout being Dylan Cozens, who scored three.

The second period was a complete wipeout as Canada scored seven goals unanswered.

Germany scored the last goal of the match thanks to Florian Elias, ending a streak of 14 straight goals from Canada.

The United States were just as impressive against Austria, keeping a clean sheet to prevail as 11-0 winners.

Drew Helleson scored the only goal of the first period, but mistakes started to creep in for the Austrians in the second, with minor penalties helping the US score six in the second period, including doubles for Trevor Zegras and Matthew Boldy. 

Boldy scored a third while Brendan Brisson got his second in the final period as the Americans scored another four goals.

Late in the game, Austrian player Philipp Wimmer was given a combined 25-minute penalty for a head and neck check, followed by a game misconduct penalty to sour what was already a poor start for his country.

Sweden won the early match 7-1 against the Czech Republic, but had to respond to going behind in the first period thanks to Jan Myšák.

Less than a minute later, Arvid Costmar equalised for the Swedes who then took the game in their stride.

Albin Sundsvik, Emil Heineman and Theodor Niederbach all scored in the second period; while Elmer Soderblom, Oscar Bjerselius and Noel Gunler added one in the third to complete a comfortable victory. 

Day three will see Finland and Switzerland play in the only Group A match, while the Czech Republic will be seeking its first victory of the tournament in Group B, with undefeated Slovakia and Canada playing in the late game.