Netherlands have been relegated to Division 2 Group A of the World Championship following a 4-3 defeat by Estonia in Belfast’s SSE Arena.
Forward Robert Rooba scored a hat-trick to secure Estonia fourth place in the tournament.
Needing to win by a three-goal margin to avoid relegation, Netherlands gave themselves a massive chance with two goals in 93 seconds.
Guus van Nes netted on the breakaway (15:12) and Jeffrey Melissant turned and shot low on the doorstep (16:43).
Estonia closed the gap to one with Rooba’s shot from the left circle on the rebound at 17:54 (powerplay).
Kevin Bruijsten scored at 28:40 to give Netherlands fresh hope, but an Estonia comeback halted any Dutch hopes.
Rooba scored his second at 37:08 while Aleksandr Petrov made it 3-3 at 47:58 and Rooba completed his treble at 53:38 to put Estonia ahead.