The victory reverses the 6-2 Swiss win for bronze at the 2012 tournament in Burlington, Vermont.

“It doesn’t matter," said defenceman Vilma Tarvinen of last year's loss. "We weren’t thinking about last year, only starting well this year. I thought we were the more talented team. It showed in the second period. We were really aggressive around the Swiss net.”

The final shots were 44-17 for the Finns.

The win gives Finland three points in Group A. The Swiss play Canada tomorrow night in the late game while earlier Finland takes on the United States.

“We came out strong in the first period, but in the second we slacked a little bit and they scored two goals," offered new Swiss captain Julia Marty. "What killed us were the penalties. We need to cut down on those and we’ll do better.”

Finland started nervously and found itself down a goal early in the game when Kathrin Nabholz snapped in a rebound. Stefanie Marty made the initial rush but goalie Noora Räty couldn’t control the rebound, giving Nabholz the open side.

But in the second the Finns took control. They tied the game at 6:54 when Annina Rajahuhta backhanded a loose puck in front. Less than three minutes later, on a power play, Rosa Lindstedt’s point shot was beautifully tipped in front by Michelle Karvinen. Goalie Florence Schelling had no chance, and the Finns dominated, outshooting their opponents 15-1 in the period.

“It was a big goal," Karvinen noted. "I kind of expected us to be nervous, but I didn’t expect us to be this tight. I was hoping we’d be a bit more goal-hungry. We had a lot of chances but didn’t bury them.”