By: THE CANADIAN PRESS

QUEBEC - Andres Ambuhl and Sandy Jeannin scored early and Switzerland went on to pound Denmark 7-2 on Sunday at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.

Marc Reichert, Thierry Paterlini, Paul DiPietro, Philippe Furrer and Beat Forster also scored for the Swiss, who outshot the Danes 54-20, including 23-2 in the second period, before an announced crowd of 8,338 at Pepsi Colisee.

With Switzerland leading 6-0 in the third period, last-place Denmark scored twice. Morten Madsen scored on a shot that went in off Swiss defenceman Goran Bezina's leg and Kim Staal beat Martin Gerber on a penalty shot.

Switzerland, which upset Sweden 4-2 earlier in the tournament, moved temporarily into a tie with the Czech Republic for second place in Group E with nine points.

The Czechs close out round robin play later Sunday against Sweden, while at Halifax, Latvia beat Norway 4-1 and the United States played Finland.

At Quebec City, a giveaway by defenceman Andreas Andreasen allowed Ambuhl to break in untouched and beat American-born goalie Patrick Galbraith 2:10 into the game. Only 1:32 later, Julien Vauclair went around Andreasen to feed Jeannin for a goal.

Reichert scored 50 seconds into the middle frame, before Paterlini and DiPietro took turns setting each other up for goals.

The Danes got a puck past Martin Gerber at 9:09, but video review showed clearly it was kicked in by defenceman Daniel Nielsen.

Furrer scored early and Forster added a power-play goal for the Swiss in the third.

On Monday, the Swiss wind up the qualifying round against Russia, while Denmark plays Belarus.

Latvia 4, Norway 1

Herberts Vasiljevs' goal late in the first period was the eventual winner as Latvia moved a step closer to clinching the fourth and final playoff spot.

Martins Cipulis, Mikelis Redlihs and Lauris Darzins, into an empty net, also scored for the Latvians, who need a win over Germany on Monday to advance.

Lars Erik Spets replied for Norway, which must beat the U.S. and hope for a German win over Latvia to move on.