O’REILLY SCORES TWICE IN CANADA’S 5-1 VICTORY OVER BELARUS TO MOVE INTO QUARTER-FINALS

HELSINKI, Finland – Mission accomplished.

Media Gallery | |

Canada set itself up with the best possible path into the medal round at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship after clinching top spot in the Helsinki pool with a 5-1 victory over Belarus on Tuesday. It was an important step for a team that desperately wants to avoid a third straight early exit at the tournament.

“Our mindset changes now and we have to win the quarter-finals,'' forward Jordan Eberle said. “That's kind of been the back-breaker for us the last two years. We've played well in the pool games but we haven't brought it in the quarter-finals.

“This is an important game for us, whoever we get.”

Depending on results of other games Tuesday, Canada could play Finland, France, Slovakia or the U.S. in the quarter-finals.

However, by winning the pool they guaranteed that they won't see the powerhouse Russians before the gold medal final. Russia has beaten Canada four straight years at the tournament, eliminating them in the quarter-finals in 2010 and 2011, and edging them for gold in 2008 and 2009.

The team will look to draw “motivation” and “inspiration” from the two most recent losses, according to coach Brent Sutter. Eleven Canadian players were part of at least one of them.

“There was one thing that they all talked to me about before we came over and it was the fact that they were really disappointed with how it finished up last year, and (same for) guys the year before,” Sutter said. “Our mindset has to be thinking about the game the right way, using any experiences you've had in the past – whether it's through achieving what you wanted, or through disappointments.”

Canada has slowly taken flight throughout this tournament and endured a tough physical challenge from Belarus on Tuesday.

Ryan O'Reilly led the way offensively with two goals, while captain Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry both had excellent games with a goal and an assist. That was a welcome sign.

“We need that line to be good,” Sutter said. “We need Getz and Corey to be the (leaders). They're guys that have won championships and have been on gold medal teams and we need them to play well for us.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored, while goalie Cam Ward stopped 17 shots for Canada (6-0-1).

Sergei Kostitsyn replied for Belarus (1-6-0), which finished 14th at the world championship for the second straight year.

A fairly chippy game saw Belarus forward Andrei Kostitsyn ejected in the second period after hammering Evander Kane from behind. The Canadian winger stayed down for some time but remained in the game.

Canadian defencemen Marc Methot and Luke Schenn were also kicked out late in the third period for separate questionable hits. That could leave the blue line short-handed if either player is suspended.

“I don't know how that will be looked at in either situation,” Sutter said.

It was another blowout win where Canada had trouble breaking through early.

The score was 1-1 after a first period that saw O'Reilly score just over two minutes into his return from a lower-body injury and Sergei Kostitsyn reply for Belarus.

Perry made it 2-1 Canada at 9:10 of the second period on a power-play, after having Getzlaf's shot go in off his skate. A few minutes later, the puck squirted over to Getzlaf after a mad scramble and he knocked it into the empty goal.

It's taken some time for both Anaheim Ducks forwards to find their groove after taking a couple weeks off following the NHL regular season. The break was particularly hard on Perry, who battled a flu bug prior to coming over to Europe and lost 12 pounds.

“I think I'm back to normal,” he said. “I feel like I'm protecting the puck a little bit more and holding on to it a little bit more, which is my game down low. That's what I've got to do to be effective.

“Hopefully, I'll just keep getting stronger as time goes on.”

It's the plan Canada has hoped to follow all along.

A year ago, the team went a perfect 7-0 through the round robin before losing 2-1 to the Russians in the quarter-finals. Thoughts of that experience provided a strong reminder that despite the success so far, the real job has just begun.

“You don't get a trophy for winning the pool,” Eberle said. “It all counts in the games to come.”

Notes: Duncan Keith had two assists and leads Canada with 11 points in the tournament ... Getzlaf won 10 of 12 face-offs ... Eberle celebrated his 22nd birthday ... Ryan Murray sat out for Canada ... Belarus had three NHL players: Mikhail Grabovski and the Kostitsyn brothers ... Announced attendance at Hartwall Arena was 9,140.

Penalties:
   14:40 BLR 89 Dmitri Korobov (Holding)

Penalties:
   06:38 BLR 13 Sergei Drozd (Tripping)
   07:22 BLR 71 Alexei Kalyuzhny (Hooking)
   13:32 BLR 23 Andrei Kostitsyn (Game Misconduct)
   13:32 BLR 23 Andrei Kostitsyn (Major - Boarding)
   14:11 BLR 5 Nikolai Stasenko (10-Minute Misconduct)
   14:11 BLR 26 Andrei Stas (Roughing)
   14:11 CAN 20 John Tavares (Roughing)
   14:11 CAN 20 John Tavares (Roughing)
   17:03 BLR 28 Konstantin Koltsov (Delay of Game)
   19:27 CAN 41 Alexandre Burrows (Tripping)

Penalties:
   13:58 CAN 9 Evander Kane (Roughing)
   16:14 CAN 5 Luke Schenn (Game Misconduct)
   16:14 CAN 5 Luke Schenn (Major - Boarding)
   19:53 CAN 33 Marc Methot (Game Misconduct)
   19:53 CAN 33 Marc Methot (Major - Boarding)