It was a classic mismatch on paper. Calvin Pryor Black Jersey . The 11th-ranked Latvians pitted against the powerhouse Swedes. The 2006 Turin gold medallists versus the last-place finishers from the 2010 Vancouver Games. But Team Sweden had its hands full in booking its spot in the quarter-finals of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Saturday, earning a hard-fought 5-3 win over the pesky Latvian side. Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson and Alex Edler each had a goal and assist for Team Sweden at Shayba Arena. Sweden (3-0), which finished its round-robin atop Group C, was also fuelled by goals from Patrik Berglund and Jimmie Ericsson. The Swedes were spectacular with the man advantage, going 4-for-5 on the power play. Karlsson now has five points (three goals, two assists) in three games in Sochi. Janis Sprukts had a goal and assist, while Lauris Darzins and Zemgus Girgensons – the only current NHLer on the team – also scored for Latvia (0-3), which went 2-for-4 on the power play. Sweden came into the game as heavy favourites, boasting much more NHL and international experience. But Latvia, coached by Buffalo Sabres bench boss Ted Nolan, found a way to level things out on the ice, never quitting with some energetic and feisty play. Latvian netminder Kristers Gudlevskis didnt look like a goalie making his first Olympic appearance, either. He was poised, calm and collected in making 25 stops on 30 shots. Perhaps his best came off the stick of Loui Eriksson in the third period. Gudlevskis was seemingly at the mercy of Daniel Sedin, who sent a cross-crease pass to a wide-open Eriksson. But the Latvian goalie was up to the task and stretched out to steal what looked like a sure goal from the Bruins winger. Latvia kept the Swedes on their toes throughout the game, trading scoring chances and forcing Lundqvist to make several tough stops throughout the game. The New York Rangers netminder finished with 20 saves and helped keep the Latvian attack at bay. The Swedes broke through and opened the scoring on a power play at 15:50 of the first period while Krisjanis Redlihs was in the penalty box, with Berglund redirecting a Karlsson point shot into the back of the net. Latvia tied it 1-1 on a spectacular passing play fuelled by Janis Sprukts. From his own blue-line, he did his best Chris Pronger impression and sent a tape-to-tape long pass to Kristaps Sotnieks, who found a streaking Lauris Darzins. The 29-year-old showed excellent patience in outwaiting his world-class counterpart Lundqvist, beating him with a sneaky backhand move. The short-handed Swedes were already without the services of one of their top snipers in Henrik Zetterberg, who was forced to pull out of the Winter Games with a herniated disc in his back. The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation announced the injury after Swedens 4-2 victory over the Czech Republic Thursday. But it was just another in a list of star forwards to drop out of the Games with health issues. Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin pulled out of Sochi on the eve of the Olympics with a rib injury. The normally durable 33-year-old had his National Hockey League ironman streak snapped at 679 games last month, a franchise best in Vancouver. Detroit Red Wings workhorse Johan Franzen, a key presence in front of the net unafraid to get physical, is also on the injury list for Sweden with a concussion. Geno Smith Jersey . 18, 2011. Burgess, a fifth-year science student from Halifax, scored five goals in two games over the weekend to lead the Huskies (2-1) to a road sweep of UNB, 3-2, and Moncton, 5-1. The prolific striker tallied all three of her teams goal Saturday in Fredericton, including the game-winner in the 79th minute, and added a pair on Sunday as Saint Marys wrapped up its perfect tour of New Brunswick. Geno Smith Jets Jersey .ca! Hey Kerry, Maybe my views are just biased, but I am having a really hard time understanding the calls that the refs are making in this series. I realize that past performances from players like Burrows and Lapierre are being taken in to account to ensure the games integrity, but last game was an embarrassment for the officials.NEW YORK -- Rookie Mason Plumlee and the reserves were flying high, so Brooklyns starters took a seat. Plumlee scored a season-high 22 points and matched his best with 13 rebounds, and the Nets used their best defensive first half in eight years as the springboard for a 93-81 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. Brooklyn held New Orleans to 28 points in the first 24 minutes, its lowest total since also allowing 28 against the Lakers on Nov. 27, 2005. The Nets were fueled by their reserves, with their top three scorers coming off their bench and no starters finishing in double figures. "Any time we can rest our older guys -- its no secret were old, so we look at this as a win in a couple of ways," Plumlee said. "We can rest them and keep them fresh, and going into All-Star break thats good." Mirza Teletovic had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who improved to 13-5 overall and 9-2 at home in 2014. Alan Anderson scored 13 points in the Nets first victory in their NBA history with no starters in double figures, according to information provided to them by Elias. Anthony Davis had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Pelicans, who had won seven of 10. They used big fourth-quarter comebacks to win their previous two games, but fell too far behind to come back in this one. "First four or five possessions we just didnt run our offence with any kind of zeal the way that weve been running it at home," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. The Nets jumped to an 11-0 lead while the Pelicans were missing their first seven shots. Brooklyn shot 65 per cent to New Orleans 25 per cent in the period, opening a 29-14 lead on Plumlees dunk with 40 seconds remaining. He kept playing above the rim in the second, soaring to catch Jason Terrys alley-oop pass with his right hand and slam it down on a fast break -- Terrys 5,000th career assist -- and later slamming home the miss of Terrys 3-point attempt to make it 42-21 with 5:02 to go. Terry, a former Sixth Man of the Year winner, said the reserves were disappointed in their performance the last twoo games. Calvin Pryor Jersey. "Our job as a bench is to come out and make an impact on the game, and we did that tonight and J-Kidd rewarded us with lengthy playing time," Terry said, referring to coach Jason Kidd. "So felt good, we got the win and we must continue to get better as a unit." The Pelicans were on an embarrassing pace of a barely a point per minute for most of the half, trailing 48-21 more than 20 minutes in, and the Nets led 51-28 at the break. New Orleans briefly trimmed it to single digits during a 32-point third quarter, but the Nets quickly finished them off early in the fourth, again with Plumlee and the reserves on the floor. The Pelicans, who were playing the first of three straight on the road while the NBA readies their arena to host next weekends All-Star festivities, had easily their worst first half of the season and shot just 56 per cent from the foul line for the game. "We just didnt play (well) tonight," Davis said. "We know it. Coaches know it. Everybody knows it." Tyreke Evans, the former Rookie of the Year who the Pelicans signed during the off-season, didnt play. Williams called it an "internal" issue. Brooklyn improved to 9-9 against Western Conference teams, joining Indiana and Miami as only East teams with a .500 or better mark against the stronger side. The Nets host Charlotte on Wednesday, then play seven straight on the road and arent back at Barclays Center until March 3. Notes: Nets centre Kevin Garnett had to leave the game early in the third quarter after a foul from Alexis Ajinca drew blood. He returned shortly after with a bandage on the left side of his head. ... Brook Lopez, who was leading the Nets in scoring before he was lost for the season after breaking his right foot again, said he isnt worried about his future. "Im not scared at all. Im confident Im going to get back on the floor and Im going to do everything I can," he said. "Theres no doubt in my mind Ill be out back on that floor playing with my guys." ... New Orleans fell to 13-6 against the East. ' ' '
