INNSBRUCK, Austria - Latvia shut out Ukraine, 3-0, and Belarus blanked Kazakhstan, 2-0, on Saturday in the second round of the world hockey championships.
Later, two-time defending champion Canada was to face Sweden in a rematch of the last two finals, while the Czech Republic was to meet Slovakia at Vienna in a game between two other unbeaten teams.
Leonids Tambijevs, Karlis Skrastins and Aleksandrs Semjonovs scored for Latvia, while goalie Arturs Irbe faced only 17 shots for his first shutout in the tournament.
Latvia has two points and is fifth in Group F, while Ukraine is last with zero points.
In Vienna, goalie Andrei Mezin posted his second shutout in the tournament, making 37 saves for Belarus. Sergei Erkovich notched the pivotal goal on a power play midway through the second period.
Kazakhstan head coach Nikolay Myshagin pulled goalie Vitaliy Kolesnik twice and called a time out in the final minute before Belarus' Konstantin Koltsov added an empty-net goal.
The United States, which played Finland to a 4-4 tie Friday, will take on Sweden today.
"We're going to get some rest and regroup a little bit," U.S. forward Doug Weight said after Friday's game. "But Sweden is tough. Sweden plays probably the most united game in this tournament. They know where everyone is. They play such a system that everyone on the ice knows where the other guy is."
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