STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Canada was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the IIHF World Championship for a fourth straight year with a 3-2 shootout loss to host Sweden on Thursday. Fredrik Pettersson scored the winner in the fourth round of the shootout as Sweden moved on to a semifinal meeting with archrival Finland. "Its the worst feeling obviously," said Canada goaltender Mike Smith. "Every time we put the Canada sweater on you are expected to win. This is tough to take." Trailing 1-0, Nicklas Danielsson scored a pair of power-play goals in the third period to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. Canadas Claude Giroux tied the game just over a minute after Danielssons second goal. Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning scored a second-period power-play goal. Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes stopped 30 shots in the loss, while Jhonas Enroth of the Buffalo Sabres made 39 saves for the win. "Third period, we werent on top of them as much as we could be," Canada coach Lindy Ruff said. "Their defending was a lot better. They made sure they had people back and didnt get caught through the neutral zone. "Both teams defended well through the neutral zone and it made it an offensive or defensive zone game. In the end it turned into a special teams game." Jacob Markstrom made a pair of saves in overtime while Enroth dealt with an equipment issue. Canada extended its run of quarter-final losses in this tournament to four straight years. Canada last advanced to the semifinals in 2009 en route to a silver medal with Ruff as coach. "It doesnt get any easier," said Canada forward Matt Duchene, who has been in the lineup for three of those losses. "Third time losing for me losing in this game and the fourth time for a couple of other guys. It hurts. "I cant believe we lost. I thought we had the team to do it this year. It just shows you one game, anyone can win. We dont like that penalty shot rule, thats for sure. It sucks we couldnt keep playing overtime." In other quarter-finals, Switzerland extended its unbeaten run in the tournament to eight wins with a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic. Theyll face the United States, an 8-3 winner in Helsinki over a Russian team that had Alex Ovechkin in the lineup, in Saturdays semifinal. Finland edged Slovakia 4-3 in Helsinkis other quarter-final. The semifinals and Sundays bronze- and gold-medal games are in Stockholm. Canada had beaten the host country 3-0 in the preliminary round, but that was before the arrival of Swedish forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin and defenceman Alex Edler from the Vancouver Canucks. The Swedes had more swagger in their step with the additions, although theyd been heaping the pressure on Canada by calling them the favourite to win. Canada lost captain Eric Staal to a knee-on-knee collision with Edler in Swedens zone at 15:52 of the first period. The Carolina Hurricanes forward went down writhing in pain and clutching his right knee. He needed assistance off the ice and did not return. Edler was served a major and a game misconduct and threw his stick like a harpoon when he left the ice. Ruff said he didnt have an update on Staals status, but te captain walked to the team bus on crutches and with a brace on his knee. "It had some impact because there was a lot of shuffling going on, Ruff said. "Still we had our opportunities. One of the turning points was we built a 1-0 lead and if Steve scores on the breakaway, it might have given us a little bit of cushion. We didnt. We let them hang around." Giroux atoned for his cross-checking penalty that allowed Danielsson to push Sweden up 2-1 at 9:35 of the third period by evening the game at 10:50. Andrew Ladds hard check along the boards knocked the puck loose towards the net. The Winnipeg Jets forward retrieved it and fed Giroux from behind the goal-line. Danielsson scored power-play goals on a pair of slapshots through traffic from just inside the blue-line in the third period. His second beat Smith between the pads and the other the eluded Canadians glove. Canadian defenceman Dan Hamhuis was serving a delay of game minor on Danielssons first goal of the period. Canada appeared to go up 2-0 at the end of the second period on a last-second shot from recent addition P.K. Subban, but referees determined via video review that time expired before the puck crossed the goal-line. "Thats why we have the instant replay. It wasnt a goal obviously I guess," Subban said. "I thought we did enough things to win this game today. I think what it comes down to is we had opportunities early in the game to put them away. We didnt capitalize." Canada scored first with power-play goal from Stamkos 45 seconds into the second period. Ladd teed up defenceman Stephane Robidas at the blue-line and Stamkos changed speed on the puck with a re-direct to slide it past Enroths pad. Smith and Enroth traded showy saves in the second period. Enroth stopped an all-alone Stamkos charging in off a stretch pass from Claude Giroux. Smith quickly covered the gap on a Johan Frannson from the faceoff circle. While Canada didnt score again in the second period, their puck management improved over the first period. They supported each other better in the defensive and neutral zones and outshot the host country 16-11 in that period. Smiths quick pad off an Oscar Lindberg re-direct early in the first period kept the Swedes off the scoreboard. Simon Hjalmarsson missed getting the puck to Gabriel Landeskog on an odd-man midway through the period. The man advantage during the Edler first-period major was negated when Andrew Ladd took a hooking major halfway through the five minutes. Canada got another 20 seconds out of that major to start the second period with an extra attacker and Stamkos made good on it. Subban, a defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens, played his first game of the tournament after his arrival Tuesday and was paired with Jay Harrison. Canada added two defenceman after the start of the tournament to bring its blue-line total to nine players. Hamhuis arrived Saturday with his Swedish Canuck teammates. Canada brought 12 forwards, so eight defencemen played Thursday. T.J. Brodie of the Calgary Flames was scratched. Notes: Switzerland, coached by Sean Simpson of Brampton, Ont., will play in the semifinal for the first time since 1998 . . . St. Louis Blues rookie forward Jaden Schwartz joined the Canadian team the previous day as insurance against injury up front. Buy Air Max Australia . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Air Max 97 Australia Cheap . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. http://www.outletairmaxaustralia.com/air-max-deluxe-buy-australia.html . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Cheap Real Off White Nike Shoes . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Nike Air Max Australia Mens . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Russian tennis star?Maria Sharapova scored a significant victory in court Tuesday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld her appeal and reduced her two-year suspension for doping to 15 months. Equally daunting challenges await Sharapova on a very different court when shes eligible to play on the WTA Tour again in April.The landscape in womens tennis has changed dramatically since Sharapova was suspended shortly after the Australian Open. In one way, this is good news for the 29-year-old. Serena Williams is 35, injury-plagued and increasingly prone to playing poorly -- or in the grip of anxiety. Sharapova is a five-time Grand Slam champ who owns a career Grand Slam. But that 2-19 record against Williams is a glaring stain on her resume. A few wins over Williams in the near future would make the mark less noticeable.The general feeling is the WTA is in transition to a post-Williams era. Its a great opportunity for Sharapova to insert herself back into the conversation -- and perhaps find a way to get back to a top ranking she most recently held for four weeks in 2012. But new voices want to make themselves heard -- and time is on their side.Few would have predicted Angelique Kerber, 2015s No. 10-ranked player, would appear in three Grand Slam finals this year, winning two. Garbine Muguruza, 22, was a Grand Slam finalist at Wimbledon in 2015; this year, she won the French Open, beating Williams in the final.When Sharapova played her last WTA match (Williams crushed her 6-4, 6-1 in the Australian Open quarterfinals), neither Karolina Pliskova nor Madison Keys were anywhere near the top 10. Johanna Konta was not yet emergent. Now they all are significant forces, and they can match Sharapova in an enterprise that was once practically her private domain: power tennis.The one player who cant meet the standard, Kerber, is now No. 1 largely because she has mastered the art of neutralizing the kind of heavy serving and baseline blasting that the power players represent. Even before Kerbers transformation into a more aggressive, confident player, Sharapova was just 4-3 against her.Pliskova, a player who has much in common with Sharapova style-wise, was beaten by Kerber in the US Open final.I dont know any other player, Simona [Halep] or those girls, which are running [as much as Kerber], Pliskova said after the match. I cannot play really 30 times across the net. Its gonna just kill me, and I will not in the end even win it.Pliskova rushed the net 38 times in the final, when she realized it was the only way for her to escape those unwinnable baseeline duels.dddddddddddd Sharapova might find herself in a similar boat when she plays Kerber. And Kerber is just one player. The problem for Sharapova is that the threat is general and has multiple layers.She will need to beat opponents whose success comes from being able to fend off and frustrate hard hitters, players who will make Sharapova hit one more ball. And she will have to master the cohort who can beat Sharapova at her own game.Kerber leads that former group because of the quality of her return game, as well as her baseline proficiency. As service bombardier Pliskova observed: The other girls, they are missing so much the returns. [Kerber] is not.No. 4-ranked Muguruza is in that category as well. Shes a strong 6-footer who plays a punishing, powerful baseline game. Former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who is inactive and due to give birth at the end of the year, might be back at about the same time as Sharapova, who just leads their rivalry 8-7.Add the jackrabbit-quick Halep, whos overdue for a breakout, along with familiar faces such as Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dominika Cibulkova to the pool.The other problematic group for Sharapova is the ever-expanding lot of players who can match the Russian serve for big serve or beat her at first-strike tennis. Pliskova and steadily maturing 21-year-old Madison Keys are the leading young members of that group.Williams always enjoyed a power and mobility advantage. Petra Kvitova can overwhelm Sharapova as well. Kvitova is just 26 and a two-time champ at the tournament where Sharapova ought to be most effective but has won just once, Wimbledon.The power group also includes 36-year-old Venus Williams and Konta, 25.The one component that cant be factored in this comeback is Sharapovas legendary competitiveness. Her toughness is unparalleled. Shes been a master intimidator.However, command is earned and confidence is cumulative. When Sharapova returns, she will enter tournaments as a wild card with no ranking, her tank empty of Ws -- that once steady flow of assurance cut off and dried up. It takes a lot of match play to get back your confidence, as Rafael Nadal can attest.Sharapova has always kept her distance from her peers and rivals, which wont make her return any easier. Nobody will be decorating the locker room with Welcome Back! banners. That might not matter to her, but it will to her rivals. Nobody will want to be to one Sharapova walks over to get back to the top. ' ' '
