Sochi 2014: Mens Results Group C 02/15

Switzerland v Czech Republic 1-0 - The next goal Jonas Hiller allows in the 2014 Sochi Olympics will be his first. Switzerland continued its impressive display of defense and goaltending Saturday, knocking off the Czech Republic 1-0 and wrapping up second place in Group C. Hiller, the starting goalie for the Anaheim Ducks, made 26 saves for his second shutout in as many starts. The Swiss have played nine periods in this tournament and allowed one goal. They've only scored two, but that's been enough to earn six points.

"I think we have enough chances to score maybe one or two more goals, but now we have two wins and we're in a good spot," New Jersey Devils forward Damian Brunner said. "We play really solid defensively. We don't allow a lot of good scoring chances, and our goaltending has been outstanding. [The Czech Republic is] a skilled team and when people talk about that game, they're favorites, so at the end of the day the only thing that counts is a win for us."

For the first time in three contests, a game involving Switzerland had a goal before the third period. Simon Bodenmann snapped a one-timer from Denis Hollenstein past Winnipeg Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec at 14:10 of the opening period. Kevin Romy was pinned against the boards behind the Czech net, but was able to wriggle free enough to get the puck to Hollenstein. It was only the second goal of the tournament for Switzerland, and the first that didn't take a weird bounce off an opponent to beat the goaltender. Switzerland's ability to prevent goals continued to be a developing theme in this tournament. The Swiss shut out Latvia in their first game, then yielded one third-period goal Friday night in a 1-0 loss to Sweden.

"It was a tough loss [to Sweden]," Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Mark Streit said. "After the game we were disappointed, but 24 hours later we played a really good game against the Czechs. … It is a change of mindset. A few years ago, you lose 3-2 or 2-1 or 1-0, and you walk out like, 'That wasn't that bad.' It is different in these times. The guys want to win every game. It doesn't matter if we play the Swedes or the Canadians or the Americans. There's no happy losses for us anymore. It was a tough one [Friday] night, but we came back strong today. It wasn't always pretty, but we pulled it off and it's a great feeling."

It hasn't mattered who is in net. Both Hiller and Calgary Flames netminder Reto Berra have played well, and the team's defensive structure has helped frustrate opponents. The only goal allowed in the first two games was actually a bad one to yield, and the Swiss were a soft rebound from Berra away from potentially forcing overtime and earning at least a point against the Swedes. Meanwhile, this tournament has not gone as planned for the Czech Republic. A slow start crippled the Czechs' chances against Sweden in a 4-2 loss in the opener, and Latvia kept the game closer than expected in a 4-2 victory. With this loss, the Czechs are likely going to be seeded seventh or eighth for the classification round, which takes place Tuesday.

"Both teams had their chances, but I think we had a little bit more," Pavelec said. "Their goalie played really well and we hit the post twice. If you don't score a goal, you can't win. I think they have a good defensive system and it is tough to play against them when they score a goal [early]."

One of the team's key players, New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias, did not play because of illness, but the Czechs still possessed plenty of dynamic offensive talent. They just couldn't solve Hiller. For the Swiss, finishing second in this group is another major accomplishment for the burgeoning hockey nation. Sweden forward Daniel Sedin said after his team's 1-0 win that he thinks other teams "need to watch out" for the Swiss and expects them to be a factor in the later portion of this tournament. Switzerland is unlikely to be seeded higher than sixth, unless Russia or the United States are upset by Slovakia or Slovenia, respectively, on Sunday. The Swiss have showcased their defensive credentials, and they are the textbook definition of a "tough out" as the elimination rounds beckon.

"The expectations, they continue to grow in Switzerland," Brunner said. "We have young players and new goals. We go into games and don't want to hide. We want to go and play right with those top teams."

Sweden v Latvia 5-3 - Sweden completed play in Group C with a perfect record, but the gold medal contenders are far from perfect in the way they are playing. Sweden won Group C with a 5-3 win against Latvia at Shayba Arena on Saturday in a game where defenseman Alexander Edler made his debut at the 2014 Sochi Olympics after serving his two-game suspension with the International Ice Hockey Federation. After losing captain Henrik Zetterberg to injury after one game and center Henrik Sedin before the Olympics, the return of Edler was at least some good news for Sweden on the lineup front.

"It was fun. Finally I got to play," Edler said. "It's something I was looking forward to for a long time."

But forward Carl Hagelin left the game with an injury and Sweden struggled to defeat Latvia, needing a Henrik Lundqvist save on a Martins Karsums breakaway to avoid being tied 4-4 with under nine minutes to play in regulation. A little over a minute later, Edler scored to make it 5-3 and send Sweden into the quarterfinals with a 3-0-0 record in group play.

"You've got to give them a lot of credit for how they played this game," said Sweden defenseman Erik Karlsson, who had a goal and an assist to complete group play with five points in three games. "I think they shocked us a little bit and they had a good power play as well. That's what happens in these short tournaments. There's so many good nations right now that you can't take anything for granted anymore."

Karlsson began the tournament playing with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a defensive pairing that was the biggest offensive threat in Sochi. But with Edler's return, he was slotted next to Karlsson and Ekman-Larsson barely played against Latvia with 7:06 of ice time, lowest among Sweden's defensemen.

"We want to give Alex an opportunity to play in that position," Sweden associate coach Rikard Gronberg said. "I think Oliver has another step, for sure. I think he can step up a little bit. Obviously Erik is producing offensively, as you can see. They're both very talented players. But we just wanted to give Alex an opportunity to play in that position. I think he did real well."

Sweden swept Group C, but it wasn't easy. The Swedes began the tournament with an underwhelming 4-2 win against the Czech Republic before beating Switzerland 1-0 and allowing winless Latvia to hang around for so long. With three days off before the quarterfinals, Sweden has some time to try and fix whatever isn't working and fine tune some areas of the team's game.

"I think we have to step it up big time before the next game," said center Patrik Berglund. "We haven't played well at all, I think. I think we struggled against Switzerland, and we struggled even more [Saturday]. They are really good teams but we got to play better, and we haven't. We've been winning the games, but we haven't played well."