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David Kampf and Roman Cervenka scored 69 seconds apart in the second period and Czechia beat Denmark 3-2 on Tuesday to advance to a quarterfinal showdown with Canada at the Milano- Cortina Olympics.
Czechia gets a second shot at the tournament favourite after losing to Canada 5-0 last week in their opener. They play on Wednesday at 10:40 a.m. ET
Martin Necas also scored for the Czechs in a busy second period when the Colorado Avalanche forward one-timed a slap shot past goalie Frederik Andersen on a power play to open the scoring.
Denmark tied it at 1-1 on Alexander True’s goal at 29:02, but Kampf quickly put the Czechs back in front and Cervenka’s goal 69 seconds later made it 3-1.
Nick Olesen’s power-play goal closed the gap before the end of the second, but Czechia held on.
Later, Sweden faces Latvia to determine who will play the United States in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
WATCH | Czechia edges Denmark:
Czechia to face Canada in the quarterfinals after holding off Denmark
Czechia hung on for a 3-2 win over Denmark to advance to the Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinals, where they will play Canada.Sweden 5, Latvia 1
Sweden swatted aside Latvia 5-1 on Tuesday to reach the men’s Olympic ice hockey quarter-finals, taking the long way to a meeting with fellow powerhouse United States after a slow start to the tournament.
Forward Adrian Kemper and captain Gabriel Landeskog scored in rapid succession in the first period, while forward Fillip Nordberg notched a goal in the second and forwards Mika Zibanejad and William Colander added two more in the third.
The Detroit Red Wings winger Lucas Raymond recorded three assists, helping on Landeskog’s goal and in both of the third-period tallies.
Perennial medal contenders Sweden were a surprise entry in the qualification play-offs, after they finished a shocking third in their Group B, missing one of four automatic spots in the quarter-finals and the day off that goes with it.
WATCH | Sweden has no trouble eliminating Latvia:
Sweden eliminates Latvia from Olympics, will face United States in quarterfinals
Sweden defeated Latvia 5-1 in Tuesday’s qualification playoff action advancing the Swedes to a quarterfinal matchup with the Americans.
“This is when the fun begins,” said Landeskog. “It’s important for us to regroup after this one, obviously recognize what we did well but understanding how our opponent’s going to go up another level tomorrow and recognize what a great opportunity it is to see what we’re made of.”
It may have taken them another game to reach the final eight, but they wasted no time at Santagiulia Area on Tuesday, as a shot from Joel Eriksson Eke bounced in off Kemp’s skate and Landeskog swiped the puck in again just 41 seconds later to set the tone.
They added to the lead midway through the second period, when alternate captain Erik Carlson sent a superb pass to Nordberg, who tapped it in.
Latvian forward Eduardo Traumas clawed one back with his third goal of the Games, pushing a rebound over the leg of Swedish goalie Jacob Markstrom, but Sweden put their foot on the gas from there.
Longtime New York Rangers centre Zibanejad swatted one into an open net six minutes into the final period and Colander guided the puck beautifully around Latvian goalie Elvis Merzlikins to finish the scoring. The Sweden-U.S. match on Wednesday for a spot in the last four has the feel of a heavyweight bout between two of the pre-tournament favorites.
Germany 5, France 1
Leon Draisaitl and JJ Peterka scored in a three-goal first period and Germany beat France 5-1 to set up a quarterfinal game against Slovakia.
Frederik Tiffels added another when he scored unassisted from a tight angle by snapping a shot off the right side of Julian Junca’s mask and into the net in a dominant opening period for the Germans.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare had given away the puck on Tiffels’ goal but the France captain scored in the second period by throwing the puck into the crease, where it hit defenseman Moritz Muller and got past goalie Philipp Grubauer.
Joshua Samanski scored a power-play goal in the third and Nico Sturm added an empty-netter for Germany.
The Germans will face Slovakia on Wednesday.
WATCH | France no match for Germany:
Germany to play Slovakia in men’s quarterfinals after eliminating France
Germany advanced to the Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinals with a 5-1 win over France.
Draisaitl, who plays for the Edmonton Oilers, opened the scoring with a power-play goal 3:40 into the game on a low wrist shot after taking a pass from Samanski.
After Tiffels made it 2-0, Utah Mammoth winger Peterka was left alone in the slot and lifted a backhander over Junca after receiving Tim Stutzle’s pass from the corner.
Junca, who made 10 saves, was pulled after the first period and replaced for the start of the second by Antoine Keller.
France lost all four of its Olympic games.
Draisaitl was already on the minds of Slovakia ahead of the quarterfinals.
“Everybody knows he’s one of the best players in the league and worldwide, obviously,” Slovakia defenceman Martin Fehervary said of the Germany captain. “And they got also a couple really good players like Stutzle and Peterka and [Moritz] Seider. But we’ve got to focus on ourselves.”
Switzerland 3, Italy 0
Switzerland beat Italy 3-0 and will face defending champions Finland in the last eight.
Philipp Kurashev and Roman Josi put the Swiss two goals up by the 11th minute with Nico Hischier scoring in the final period as Italian goaltender Damian Clara kept the scoreline down, making 48 saves across the 60 minutes.
WATCH | Swiss down Italians:
Switzerland to meet Finland in men’s quarterfinals after eliminating host Italians
Italian goalkeeper Damian Clara made 48 saves, but it wasn’t enough as Switzerland shut them out 3-0 to advance to the Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinals.
Switzerland were without Los Angeles Kings forward Kevin Fiala, who suffered a tournament-ending leg injury in Friday’s 5-1 loss to Canada, but had enough NHL talent to see off the hosts who exit the tournament without a win in their four games.
Germany thrashed France 5-1 across Milan at Santagiulia Arena and will meet Slovakia in Wednesday’s quarter-finals.
The Czech Republic play Denmark and Sweden face Latvia in Tuesday’s other playoff games.