Preston's third-period hat trick helps Canada rout Switzerland at Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Mathis Preston posted a third-period hat trick as Team Canada picked up a 9-1 win over Switzerland at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Tuesday.

Canada broke out for five goals in the third period after being largely stymied by Swiss netminder Yannis Zambelli in the first two periods. Dimian Zhilkin scored the first of his two goals eight seconds into the second period on the power play to break a deadlock between the two teams.

Zambelli stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced through 40 minutes, while Switzerland managed a total of just eight shots. His dominance came to an end in the final frame as Canada scored four goals in the span of 2 minutes and 22 seconds in the first half of the period. 

Preston scored twice in that onslaught, with Zhilkin adding his second goal of the game and Adam Valentini also scoring for Canada. Preston, Valentini, Ethan Belchetz and Ryan Lin scored in the second half of the third period as Canada completed the rout.

Yanis Lutz scored Switzerland's lone goal in the third period, ending Carter Esler's shutout bid. The Canadian netminder finished with 14 saves in the victory.

Now 2-0 at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup after a 3-1 win over Finland on Monday, Canada will close out group round play against co-hosts Czechia on Wednesday at 2pm ET/11am PT on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.