QIQIHAR, Northeast China, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Netherlands shrugged off a dramatic 0-3 trailing to force a shootout in the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) Division I Group A tournament, but Leszek Laszkiewicz's sole goal in shootout was enough to earn Poland a 4-3 win.

Early on it looked like the game would be a lopsided contest as Poland outshot the Netherlands 45-20 in regular time and established an easy 3-0 lead. Grzegorz Pasiut scored Poland's first goal just 4: 36 into the game after scooping up the puck in front of the net.

The advantage saw expansion as Leszek Laszkiewicz added Poland's second 7:33 in the second period followed with Mikolaj Lopuski's tap-in in front of the blue circle midway of the period.

The Netherlands pulled one goal back 4:38 remaining in the period to revive Dutchman's slim hope of comeback. Casey Van Schagen further narrowed the Dutch deficit to one goal 5:57 into the third period well utilizing two-man advantage before Jamie Schaafsma equalized the game 3:3 just 1:30 later. Dutch goal minder Phillip Paul was the hero to stave off an overwhelming Polish victory, fending off a series of power play.

But Paul allowed Leszek Laszkiewicz to score the only goal in shootout. Polish goalie Tomasz Jaworski shut out all three attempts from the Netherlands in shootout and delivered Poland the hard-win victory.

In other two games played Sunday, Kazakhstan swept past China 12-0 to top Group A; Estonia upset France 4-3 through overtime shootout.

Top finishers from the round-robin competition will be upgraded to World Championship, while the bottom team will end up with a relegation to Division B.