MINSK, Belarus -- Finland blanked Germany 4-0 and Denmark beat Italy 4-1 on Tuesday for their first victories at the ice hockey world championship.
After losses to Latvia and Russia, Finland finally found its stride. Petri Kontiola and Jarkko Immonen's first-period goals gave the Finns a 2-0 lead before Olli Palola and Leo Komarov scored 30 seconds apart in the second.
Goaltender Pekka Rinne made 20 saves for the shutout.
Finland has three points in Group B, while Germany has five.
Jannik Hansen scored a short-handed goal for Denmark and Jesper Jensen, Emil Kristensen netted one each before Kim Staal added the last into an empty net.
Diego Kostner scored for Italy.
Denmark and Italy have three points each in Group A.
