May 9, 2006 3 min read

RIGA, Latvia (AP) – Olympic champion Sweden beat Italy 4-0 Monday behind two goals from Kenny Jonsson to qualify for the second round at the World Ice Hockey Championship. The United States and Canada, riding another strong game from Pittsburgh Penguin Sidney Crosby, advanced on Sunday. Finland and the Czech Republic also advanced on Sunday.

Russia defeated Belarus 3-2 with a pair of third-period goals on Monday, and Switzerland beat Ukraine 2-1 to also advance.

Russia’s Alexander Kharitonov broke a 2-2 tie at 13:19 of the third period with a wrist shot that beat Belarus goalie Andrei Mezin.

Switzerland scored twice in the first period on a power-play goal by Goran Bezina and a short-handed goal by Andres Ambuhl.

Russia took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission on a power-play goal by Igor Yemeleyev.

Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin, who scored three times for Russia against Kazakhstan on Saturday, missed a penalty early in the period when his shot hit the post.

In other action, Slovakia beat Kazakhstan 6-0.

The United States beat winless Denmark 3-0 Sunday with goals from Andrew Alberts, Yan Stastny and Richard Park.

Canada routed Norway 7-1 behind Crosby’s goal and three assists, joining the U.S. in the next round from Group D with 2-0 records with one game left. The Americans finish first-round play against Canada on Tuesday.

The Czech Republic held on for a 5-4 win over Slovenia after taking a 4-0 first-period lead, and Finland shut out host Latvia 5-0 in Group A games.

Finland combined tight penalty killing with a solid power play to blank Latvia and assure its spot in the qualification round. Latvia must get at least a tie against Slovenia on Tuesday to advance.

The U.S. win avenged a startling loss in the prelims to Denmark three years ago when the championships were in Finland.

U.S. goalie Craig Anderson, a backup with the Chicago Blackhawks, made 19 saves.

“It was definitely an easy night,” Anderson said. “I only had to make the first save, any rebound the defense cleared up and made great plays. We really played well together as a team tonight. So far it has worked fine for us in two games and we’re going to try to do the same in the next game.”

Park, the U.S. captain, praised Anderson.

“Goaltending has been our biggest strength in this tournament,” Park said. “We’ll try to give him the outside shots and clear the rebounds.”

Canada, of course, will be much tougher for the Americans.

“It’s going to be an all-around effort,” Anderson said. “With this big ice, there are going to be a lot of chances offensively. But it’s going to be a little more physical against Canada. Even with the bigger ice surface, I think it’s going to come down to defense and whoever makes more mistakes are going to lose.”