Jonas Hiller and Switzerland did it again.
The Anaheim goalie notched his second straight shutout of the Olympics on Saturday, stopping all 24 shots faced in a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic at the Bolshoy Ice Dome. With the win, Switzerland clinched second place in Group C and emerged a dangerous opponent for the playoff round.
Hiller hasn’t surrendered a goal in 120 minutes of action and the Swiss have conceded just once in three games, during a 1-0 loss to Group C winners Sweden on Friday. We wrote about Switzerland’s stout defense/conservative approach prior to the tournament and the team has been exactly that, participating in three 1-0 games during the group phase (the Swiss beat Latvia on a goal with eight seconds left in the tourney opener).
VIDEO: Watch Hiller’s stellar performance
Simon Bondemann scored in the first period for Switzerland, just the country’s second goal of the Games, with Kevin Romy and Denis Hollenstein registering assists. The only other Swiss skaters to register points this tournament are Nashville forward Simon Moser -- who scored the game-winner against Latvia -- and Flyers defenseman Mark Streit, who assisted on Moser’s tally.
As for the Czechs, today’s loss caps off a disappointing group phase in which they only registered one win, against Latvia, and saw an illness run through the team. Defenseman Radko Gudas drew in for the first time after missing the opening two games due to sickness, but veteran forward Patrik Elias missed the game because he fell ill.
Notes: Vancouver defenseman Raphael Diaz led all Swiss players with 23:29 TOI... Marek Zidlicky once again led the Czechs, with 27:19... Ondrej Pavelec played his second straight game for the Czechs and did well, stopping 25 of 26 shots.