* Czech Republic and Finland win 5-0
* Sweden hammer Austria 7-1
* U.S. made to work hard by Latvia
By Brian Homewood
BERNE, April 25 (Reuters) - Title hopefuls Sweden, Finland
and Czech Republic enjoyed lop-sided wins as the minnows took a
pounding at the world championship on Saturday.
Sweden demolished Austria 7-1, Finland thumped Norway 5-0
and the Czechs, hoping to atone for disappointing displays in
the last two championships, dispatched Denmark 5-0.
Latvia were the only team to threaten an upset before going
down 4-2 to the United States.
The Latvians twice led the Group C match in Berne with goals
from Herberts Vasiljevs and Martins Karsums, one of two NHL
players in their squad.
The U.S. replied through Jack Johnson and Drew Stafford
before Johnson struck again to put them 3-2 ahead at the end of
the second period.
With 14 minutes left, Patrick O'Sullivan snared a rebound
from Ron Hainsey's shot to give the Americans a two-goal lead.
"You want to face a little bit of adversity and test your
character somewhat," said U.S. coach Ron Wilson after his team
outshot Latvia 38-19.
"We don't have to be great in the first couple of games but
we want to get better with each performance," he told reporters.
FIVE ASSISTS
Linus Omark provided five assists as Sweden routed
relegation contenders Austria in the same group.
The Swedes led 3-0 after the first period, Austria pulled
one back in the second before the Swedes regained their rhythm
in the final frame to add four more goals.
"The main thing is we got the win but the numbers didn't
really tell the story of the whole game," said Sweden coach
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson.
"Austria had chances to get back into the game in the second
period."
Finland, whose netminder Pekka Rinne made 30 stops for his
shutout, kept Norway confined to their end of the ice as they
dominated their Group D match in Zurich.
The Finns raced into a 3-0 lead in the first period with
powerplay goals from Antti Miettinen, Jarkko Immonen and Niko
Kapanen. Mika Pyorala added a middle-frame goal before Mikko
Lehtonen completed the win in the third.
The Czechs, winners in 2005, runners-up in 2006 but out of
the medals since, took an early lead through Jaroslav Hlinka
before Jan Marek, Petr Cajanek and Ales Hemsky tallied powerplay
goals in a six-minute interval in the second period.
Jaromir Jagr completed the scoring from another powerplay
while Jakub Stepanek made 21 saves for his Group D shutout.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story
email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
