[Jesse834]

VS 1:00 PM MT SNET

Look for a meaningful third period. Belarus gave Sweden a hard go in the prelims, keeping things undecided until the final minutes of a 4-2 loss. The Swiss worried the No. 1 seed Americans well into third and, just tip of the iceberg stuff for Canada, took the host country to the fourth round of a shootout.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?i...vid=sb:preview



VS 8:00 PM MT TSN

This is no classic No. 5 vs. No. 12 showdown. The Latvians have been outscored 19-4 in the preliminary round, but they played the Czechs tougher than either of their other two opponents. These teams met five days ago and the Czechs walked away with a 5-2 win. As a result, the Czechs not only garnered a valuable three points for seeding purposes, but also an appreciation for how dangerous this Latvian team can be, despite the fact it finished last among the 12-team field.

"Tomorrow we need to not take the other team lightly, they are good players," Czech goalie Tomas Vokoun said. "We need to be prepared to play our best game." With that being said, if the Czechs show up and bring the same type of game with which they opened the tournament with a win against Slovakia, this should be nothing more than a tune-up for Wednesday's quarterfinal with Finland.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2009090021

VS 10:00 PM MT CTV

After a close loss to the Czechs to open the tournament, the Slovaks have slowly been hitting their stride, shocking the Russians in a shootout and then throttling the Latvians on Saturday.

Norway, meanwhile, has been immensely entertaining, despite losing its three games. It hung close with the Canadians for a little more than a period and the Americans for two-plus periods and then forced the Swiss into overtime in one of the best games of the tournament. It will be interesting to see if the Norwegians have any left in reserve to give the Slovaks a scare.

"The guys are gaining confidence all the time," said Norwegian defenseman Juha Kaunismaki. "We were the better team against Switzerland. We are going to bring that self-confidence to the next game."

So, it appears that the Norwegians, who have had two days to regroup from the 5-4 OT loss to the Swiss, believe they have gas left in the tank as they two nations meet for the first time at the Olympics.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2009090022