Norman Vergara - AHN Sports Writer
Halifax, Canada (AHN) - Russia and Canada won their respective games on Monday to formalize their top spots heading into the quarterfinal round at the 2008 World Hockey Championships.
The Russians kept their unbeaten run going with a 5-3 victory over Switzerland. The win gave Russia a clean 5-0 slate (with two overtime victories) and top spot in Group E.
The two nations meet again on Wednesday in Quebec City for a berth in the semifinals.
The Canadians, meanwhile, secured the best mark in Group F with a 6-3 thrashing of Finland on Monday. It was Canada's fifth straight win in as many games in the qualifying round, giving them a quarterfinals assignment against either Norway or Latvia.
In other games on Monday, the United States routed the Norwegians 9-1 while two other matches were to be played later in the day. Latvia tries to make it to the last eight with a victory over Germany while Belarus and Denmark meet in a no-bearing game at the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City.
The Americans got three goals from New York Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky to fuel their onslaught against Norway, which will get a free ride to the quarterfinals if the Latvians succumb to the Germans.
The other quarterfinal matchups were also set for Wednesday, with Group E second-placer Czech Republic (2-1-1-1 win-overtime win-overtime loss-loss) facing off Group E No. 3 Sweden (3-0-0-2). The U.S. (3-0-0-2) will meet Finland (3-1-0-1) in the other pairing.
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