16.02 Switzerland Surprises Czechs in Sochi Men's Hockey Tournament

SOCHI, February 15 (R-Sport) – Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller was impenetrable Saturday, leading Switzerland to a surprise 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in the men's hockey tournament of the Sochi Olympics.

Switzerland finishes the preliminary round in second place in Group C with two wins and one defeat and retains slight chances of qualifying straight into the quarterfinal, while third place for the 1998 Olympic champion Czechs sends them to the qualification playoffs.

Simon Bodenmann scored the sole goal of the game on 14:10 of the first period, converting Denis Hollenstein's pass from behind the net.

Hiller stopped 26 shots to register his second shutout of the tournament.

In the other game in Group C, Sweden won its third straight match, beating Latvia 5-3 and becoming the first team to book a spot in the quarters. It was a tougher test than expected for the medal-contending Swedes, who had to come back from 2-1 down in the second period.

Earlier in the day, United States battled to a 3-2 shootout win over Russia, while Slovenia stunned Slovakia 3-1.

At the group stage, all teams play three games and then the four best teams go straight into the quarterfinals, while the other eight go into playoffs.

The gold medal game is February 23.