Canada 11 - Latvia 0

Qualifier Round
Thursday May 11, 2006
8:15 pm (local)/ 1:15 pm ET
Riga, LAT
Skonto Arena

RIGA, Latvia - Canada got goals from 10 players, including nine on the power-play, in an 11-0 win over Latvia on Thursday for Canada's fourth straight win at the World Hockey Championship.

The game featured a total of 23 penalties and the teams played 5-on-5 for about 20 minutes over the course of the 60-minute game. The game was marred by angry fans littering the ice and at one point a Latvian player issued a plea over the public address system for peace.

Jason Williams had a goal and three assists. Kyle Calder added two goals while Sidney Crosby, Brad Boyes, Patrice Bergeron, Brendan Shanahan, Jeff Carter, Matt Pettinger, Mike Richards and Scott Hartnell also scored.

Goalie Marc Denis made 26 saves for the shutout in his second start of the tournament.

Canada now has six points atop the Group E standings and Canada's nest opponent is the Czech Republic on Sunday and they play Finland on Monday.

The Latvians fans are renowned for the passion they bring to the game and the greeted their heroes with chants of "Latvia, Latvia." The Riga Arena was so loud that Canadian family members were given earplugs by team officials.

The game was decided in the first period when Canada scored four goals. And it was after Bergeron made it 4-0 at 17:43 that things deteriorated. The fans, upset by the officiating of referee Rick Looker of the United States, littered the ice with everything from coins to shoes and even a cellphone.

The final score was Canada's largest win over Latvia since a 14-0 victory at the1935 world championship .

Preview: Players and fans can say what they want about noisy NHL arenas but they are nothing compared to the deafening levels the Canadians can expect when they play the host nation in the opening game of the qualifying round. Latvia may not be a world hockey power but the Lavtians fans are golem deal winners when it comes to cranking up the decibel meter.

The game is being played in the shiny new Arena Riga, where more than 10,000 fans will cheer on the home team. "It's going to be a test for our younger players,' Team Canada captain Brendan Shanahan said after the 2-1 win over the United States. 'It's going to be an environment that they've never seen before."

by Alan Adams