Historic win over Swiss puts Belarus into quarter-finals

Second only to beating Sweden in the 2002 Olympics, what happened Tuesday afternoon at Skonto Arena was a huge moment in Belarusian hockey history. With a 2-1 win over Switzerland, Belarus clinched third place in Group F with six points and a quarter-final berth versus Finland.

"I've been an athlete, and I know what it feels like when you're on the ice and you have everything to lose and the other team doesn't," Belarus Head Coach Glen Hanlon said of the pressure the Swiss team faced. "In this situation, a loss would have been disheartening, but we've accomplished a fair amount up to this point. So I think we came out and we weren't as tense, and we were better able to play our game."

Switzerland's fate, meanwhile, depends on the outcome of the Ukraine-Slovakia game: a Slovak win or tie puts the Swiss out and gives Slovakia the fourth and final quarter-final berth.

It is the first time Belarus has ever cracked the Playoff Round at an IIHF World Championship. The nation finished eighth in its 1998 elite division debut, but that was before the current playoff format was instituted.

In this tight-checking affair, Andrei Skabelka led the Belarusian attack with a goal and an assist, while Sergei Zadelenov also scored. Martin Pluss replied for Switzerland.

Goalie Andrei Mezin made 29 saves for Belarus, while David Aebischer countered with 19 stops in the Swiss nets.

"We found ourselves in a hole for the fifth time in this tournament," said Swiss Head Coach Ralph Krueger. "But we had a strong reaction after falling behind. Looking at Belarus, they had the most exceptional tournament they've ever played. They're outstanding with the lead, they have Mezin, and they play great defense."

The victory continued a remarkable run for Belarus, which has only been definitely outclassed once so far in this tournament with a 4-1 loss to Sweden.

In the early going, the teams played cautiously with the majority of the play along the boards, and when the goalies were tested, it was only with harmless long-range shots.

The Belarusians opened the scoring at 9:04 when Andrei Skabelka circled out of the corner to Aebischer's left and fired a shot from the faceoff circle over the goalie's glove.

At the other end, Mezin alertly blocked an Ivo Ruthemann wraparound attempt and picked off a high Mark Streit drive from the point just over a minute later.

Working with a two-man advantage for 1:14, Switzerland couldn't cash in as Mezin blocked another Streit blast and the Belarusian penalty-killers maintained a disciplined box formation.

"A lot about this tournament comes down to special teams," said Hanlon. "That's what it takes to be successful. The 5-on-3 kill was tremendous for us."

At 16:37, Belarus got a power play opportunity after Swiss defenseman Goran Bezina hauled down Dmitri Meleshko cutting around Aebischer's net. On one shift, the Belarusians managed to hobble both Julien Vauclair and Martin Pluss with hard shots off the ankle, but couldn't penetrate the net for their second goal.

Mezin continued his heroics on a Swiss power play in the sixth minute of the second, turning away tough Streit and Sandy Jeannin shots from the line with traffic in front.

Just seconds after a Swiss penalty to Thierry Paterlini ended, the Belarusians capped two minutes of intense pressure when Sergei Zadelenov tried to convert a pass from Skabelka and then snared his own rebound at the left side of Aebischer's net before popping it high over the fallen goalie for a 2-0 lead at 9:58 of the middle frame.

"It's critical that [Belarus] got the lead," said Krueger. "Andrei Mezin is one of the best, if not the best, goaltenders in the tournament."

Another Swiss power play saw Mezin foiling Valentin Wirz on a close-range shot with two seconds left before the minor to Sergei Erkovich.

At 8:17 of the third period, the Swiss finally broke through to make it 2-1 when the Belarusians turned it over in their own zone and Ruthemann whacked it toward the goal, where Martin Pluss deftly tipped the puck past Mezin.

"We gave it everything we had in the third when we scored," said Swiss forward Kevin Romy. "We were close to another goal, but couldn't score. We should have had a much better start to this game."

Zadelenov stripped Mark Streit of the puck inside the Swiss blueline with just over six minutes remaining and swept in on goal for a great chance, but Aebischer averted his deke attempt.

The Belarusian checking became even more tenacious down the stretch. Mezin was there to prevent occasional opportunities like Thomas Deruns's backhand at the side of the net with 2:32 remaining.

Aebischer was pulled for the extra attacker in the dying moments as the Swiss battled for the equalizer with pressure in the Belarusian end, but to no avail.

"We owe our success to Glen Hanlon," said Belarus forward Dmitri Dudik. "He came all the way from North America to coach this team again. He is the reason we are successful, and he has us believing in ourselves."

Attendance was 3,170.