This is really ugly.
www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/news_story/?ID=165490&hubname=canadian_hockeyRIGA, Latvia (Ticker) - Glen Hanlon may have missed the NHL playoffs but the Washington Capitals coach watched his other team advance on Wednesday as Belarus pounded Kazakhstan, 7-1, to reach the qualification round of World Hockey Championships.
Sergei Zadelenov had a hat trick and Mikhail Grabovsky scored twice, including once on a penalty shot, as Belarus continued its superb play to take over second place in the Group C standings behind Russia.
At Riga Arena, Capitals rookie sensation Alexander Ovechkin was held scoreless for the second straight game but the Russians still completed the first round with an unblemished mark of 3-0 after posting a 4-3 win over 2002 champion Slovakia.
Ukraine also secured a place in the next round, beating Italy, 4-2, in an ill-tempered contest that ended with a player in the hospital and four others ejected after a wild brawl that spilled over into the hallway of the arena. At Skonto Arena, unbeaten Sweden and Switzerland battled to a 4-4 tie in the final game of the preliminary round, a contest that took nearly four hours to complete after play was delayed for an hour to repair the damaged ice.
But the draw was still enough to give the Swedes, the Olympic champions, the top spot in the Group B standings ahead of the Swiss because of a better goal differential.
It was a much smoother day for Hanlon and his coaching staff, as they stood arm-in-arm watching their team celebrate a well-deserved win over Kazakhstan.
"We had a good opening but I think some of the guys were a little nervous," Hanlon said. "This is something Belarus has never done before, being second seed in a pool."
After trading goals in the opening period, Belarus took control in the second with a pair of power-play tallies from Grabovsky and Yaroslav Chupris and shorthanded marker from Zadelenov to surge in front, 4-1.
Belarus could have had an even larger cushion but Andrei Kostitsyn failed to convert on a penalty shot late in the opening period.
The misfire matter little, however, as the upstart Belarusians piled on three more goals in the third with Dimtry Dudik, Zadelenov and Grabovsky each finding the net.
Zadelenov opened the scoring in the first but Andrey Spirdonov replied with just a minute remaining in the period to spoil Andrei Mezin's shutout bid.
Detroit Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg had a pair of goals as Olympic champion Sweden survived a furious comeback bid by never-say-die Switzerland.
Tied 1-1, play was suspended early in the second period after a gapping hole in front of the Sweden bench developed in the ice, halting play for 75 minutes.
After two tight periods, the third stanza opened at a furious pace with the two teams combining to score three goals in just 51 seconds.
Zetterberg and Jesper Mattsson scored 26 seconds apart for the Swedes while Raffaele Sannitz answered back for the Swiss to cut their deficit to 3-2.
Sweden looked to have put the contest out of reach when Andreas Karlsson buried his third goal of the championships but once again Switzerland came storming back on goals from Ivo Ruthemann and Sannitz, forcing the draw.
Alexei Mikhnov's third-period power-play goal earned Russia a 4-3 win over struggling Slovakia.
Tied 2-2 after one period and 3-3 after two, Mikhnov collected the winner on a power play six minutes into the third when he took a feed from Denis Arkhipov of the Nashville Predators and one-timed it past Sergei Zvyagin.
Kostiantyn Kasianchuk and Roman Salniko scored a power-play goal as the Ukraine stormed to an early lead then held on to beat Italy.
But the victory may have proved costly as defenseman Denys Isayenko finished the game in the hospital and two others were sent off with misconducts.
Isayenko was driven into the boards midway through the third period as play was leaving Ukraine's zone. Despite the crushing hit, the blueliner made his way back to the bench before falling to the floor.
Emergency personnel rushed to Isayenko's aid and he was loaded onto a stretcher and taken to a hospital.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian team said that Isayenko had hurt his neck and sustained a possible broken jaw but his injuries were not life-threatening.
After Yuri Dyachenko tallied into an empty net with just 2:04 to cap the scoring, the contest deteriorated into a series of skirmishes that spilled over into the hallways under the stands as the ejected players left the ice.
According to witnesses, Italian forward Tony Iob, the first player ejected, waited in the hallway before attacking Ukraine's Vadym Shakhraychuk.
The fight continued for several minutes until off-ice officials and police were summoned to restore order.
Four players, Italy's Iob and Michele Strazzabosco and Ukraine's Shakhraychuk and Amin Helfer received misconducts for their actions in the fracas.
Vera. Sorry the Nucks can't make the playoff.
All teams with some major Swedes in them are out already. Except the Ottawa Alfietors. I guess the Olympic gold medal took too much energy.
That's the reason Phaneuf gave for not playing in World Championship. 
all time low.
