The Finns went into the clash seeking their first win of the championship, after defeats to hosts Canada and defending champions the United States, while the ROC’s sole triumph came against the group’s bottom side, Switzerland.

In a match that featured just 31 shots, Finland - who became the first team outside of North America to appear in an IIHF Women’s World Championship final on home soil in 2019 in a controversial shoot-out defeat to the US - rushed into a three-goal lead in the first period.

Susanna Tapani, Petra Nieminen and Jenniina Nylund were all on target, before Nieminen completed the scoring in the third period.

Despite the convincing win, Finland’s coach Pasi Mustonen was left disappointed at his side’s display after a great start to the match.

"They [ROC] like to take chances when they are pressed," Mustonen said.

"It's not easy to play them tactically.

"They often leave the high forward ready to jump into the attack.

"But for us, I was only pleased by the great first period.

"We were extremely well focused and prepared for the game, and then, we lost everything.

"You could see it in the dressing room after the first period.

"The game was over in the heads of some of our players, and that's why we played a catastrophic second period.

"That's typical for a young team.

"You believe you are very good, and that's it.

"It should have been 3-3 after the second period, but it wasn't, thanks to [goalkeeper Sanni] Keisala."

In group B, the Czech Republic rounded off their preliminary round campaign with a fourth win from as many matches as they beat second placed Germany 2-0.

Dominika Laskova gave the Czechs the lead early in the second period and added her second in the third period.

Czech coach Tomas Pacina said of his team’s tournament so far: "I think the turning point for us was the game against Hungary.

"We felt we didn't play very well and we let them into the game.

"The girls responded well after that game.

"We felt against Japan we played 40 complete minutes and today we played 50 complete minutes.

"We definitely believe in the quarter-finals we'll play 60 complete minutes."

The Czech Republic will face whoever finishes third in group A out of Finland, the ROC and Switzerland, while Germany have one more group B match against Japan to decide who finishes second and third - they have both secured their berths in the last eight, where they will face either the US or Canada.

Hungary’s first ever victory at the Women’s Worlds, a 5-1 triumph over Denmark, ensured they finished the tournament ranked ninth.

Kinga Jokai-Szilagyi and Alex Gowie gave Hungary a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period, before captain Fanni Gasparics made it three in the second period.

Danish captain Josefine Jakobsen got one back, but Gowie and Gasparics scored again to clinch a historic win for Hungary.

There is no relegation from the IIHF Women’s World Championship this year for the bottom two teams.

The preliminary round draws to a conclusion tomorrow, with Finland playing Switzerland and the US taking on Canada in matches that will determine each team’s route to the final, while Germany face Japan in group B.