Blake Sloan scored twice to lead the US over Ukraine 7-1 and into the qualifying round of the ice hockey world championships on Wednesday.
In Group A, Jaromir Jagr sparked a late four-goal scoring flurry to give host Czech Republic a 5-1 win over Germany, while Marian Gaborik and Miroslav Satan each scored twice to help 2002 champion Slovakia beat Finland 5-2 in Group B.
Earlier, Dany Heatley netted a pair to lift Canada over Switzerland 3-1 and to the top of the Group D standings. In Group C, six different players scored to give Russia an easy 6-1 victory over Japan, a game which was decided in the first five minutes.
The US finished third in Group B at the end of the preliminary round. Slovakia tops the table with five points and Finland is second with four.
With their first preliminary round win, the Americans avoided an embarrassing repeat of last year's showing in Finland, where they failed to advance from the group stage and eventually wound up 13th in the 16-team tournament.
"We did a good job of skating," US head coach Peter Laviolette said. "That was the first and foremost thing on our list. We needed to skate, we needed to put the puck behind them. We knew they did a good job in protecting their blue line, and if we turned the puck over that they had the skill on their team that could beat us with long plays."
Winless Ukraine dropped to the relegation round with France, Kazakhstan and Japan.
The Americans play Sweden in their opening qualifying round match Friday.
Sloan, a defenseman from the Dallas Stars, opened the scoring at 8:43 in the first period. His other goal, at 14:28 in the second period, made it 5-0.
Ryan Malone, Richard Park and Paul Mara notched three straight power-play goals after Sloan's opener, while Keith Ballard, the only college player on the team, and Mike Grier added the others for the UD.
"I think our power play was probably the best it's been in the three games that we've had so far," Laviolette said. "The biggest thing for me as a coach is that I can see our team taking small steps in the right direction to where we need to go in order to be successful in the tournament."
Roman Salnikov spoiled Mike Dunham's shutout bid just 38 seconds before the final buzzer, scoring a power-play goal with Sloan serving a holding-the-stick penalty.
Canada produced its best game of the tournament, and played an increasingly physical game that had the Swiss running.
"Our physical side kind of took over," Danny Briere said. "In the first period they came out strong but we kept coming at them. In the second they weren't holding onto the puck much. They kept chipping the puck and trying to pass their trouble to someone else."
Heatley sunk two, while Brendan Morrison scored the other with a lovely wraparound goal. Marcel Jenni had Switzerland's only goal.
Canada goaltender Roberto Luongo made 21 saves, while Swiss 'keeper Martin Gerber was peppered with 31 shots.
Canada opened scoring 44 seconds into the second period, when Scott Neidermayer sent a loose puck to Heatley from the point, with the Thrashers forward swiping it in on Gerber's stick side.
Morrison made it 2-0 when he picked up the puck from Canucks teammate Matt Cooke, and spun around the goal to slip it between the Mighty Ducks 'keeper's skates at 11:07.
"Our coach Mike Babcock knows Gerber pretty well, he's had him all season with the Ducks," Morrison said. "So he gave us tips. We talked about the wraparound between periods. I guess I was listening."
Blasting one from the right circle, Heatley scored his second on a power play after Julien Vauclair was sent off for checking Glen Murray's head.
Jenni ruined Luongo's shutout bid with less than seven minutes left, slamming in a rebound after the Swiss rushed the net.
"It was our best game so far," Morrison said. "We're getting better every game. We knew we had to get going, to take the initiative and not just wait for something to happen."
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
RSS