Article content continued

“We got beat by an excellent team that has high skill, great coaching and the ability to win in different ways,” said Belarus coach Dave Lewis, originally from Kindersley, Sask.

“I told our players to forget this game. This game does not exist in their mind — I want it washed away. I’m proud of the group and I want the group to be proud of what they’ve done.”

The best chances for Belarus came in the second period, when Mike Smith stopped 13 of the 24 shots he faced in the game.

“It was great,” he said of his first shutout of the tournament. “I think we kind of got away from our gameplan a bit in the second period and they came at us a little bit. That’s a good team. If you give them chances, they can hurt you.

“We got back at it in the third and were able to get through, so we’re happy with the outcome.”

Canada will face the winner of the quarter-final between Finland and the Czech Republic, which was played later Thursday. Todd McLellan said his team will be ready either way.

“We had the opportunity to play a very hard game against the Czech team (in the preliminary round),” McLellan recalled. “Their advantage is playing in this building with their rabid fans behind them and the energy that they bring.

“The Finns are always a hard group to play. Their puck protection skills and their grit and determination is second to none in the tournament and they’ve got a big goaltender (Pekka Rinne) in net that’s capable of winning the tournament by himself. That alone creates a big challenge.”

Elsewhere, the United States advanced with a 3-1 win over Switzerland. The Americans will play the winner of the quarter-final between Russia and Sweden.

— With files from The Associated Press.