ICE HOCKEY

ICE HOCKEY
World Cup quarterfinals
Czech Republic 6, Sweden 1
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Milan Hejduk scored two goals as the Czech Republic routed Sweden. The Czechs, who finished next-to-last in the European pool, will face either the United States or Canada in the semifinals when the tournament moves to North America this weekend.
Martin Straka, Martin Havlat, Marek Zidlicky and Radek Dvorak also scored for the Czechs, who led 5-0 before the Swedes pulled one back when playing short-handed late in the third period.
The Czechs quickly neutralized whatever home-ice advantage the Swedes hoped for and never looked back after taking a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Swedes managed only four shots on goalie Tomas Vokoun in the opening session and half of them came during the opening minutes.
The Czechs started the tournament with two straight losses, at Finland (4-0) and Sweden (4-3). But they showed improvement in the last period against Sweden, scoring three goals, and then trounced Germany 7-2 in the round-robin finale in Prague.
"It was an unbelievable game, and I'm very glad our guys showed what they can do," said Vladimir Ruzicka, who replaced Ivan Hlinka as coach after the former Pittsburgh Penguins coach died in an automobile accident in the Czech Republic on the eve of the tournament. "They played with a lot of heart, and really showed the true face of this team."
Associated Press