QUEBEC — Switzerland put two pucks into its own net in the opening seven minutes to help Russia to a 6-0 victory Wednesday in the quarter-finals of the IIHF World Hockey Championship.
Russia, seeking its first world championship title since 1993, advanced to the semi-finals and will face the winner of a game between Finland and the United States.
Alexander Semin opened the scoring 1:14 into the game with Alexander Ovechkin screening goalie Martin Gerber.
Gerber had no chance as Maxim Afinogenov got credit for the goal that Swiss defenceman Raphael Diaz pushed into his own net with his hand at 2:18, and Danis Zaripov was given a goal that defenceman Philippe Furrer shot into his own net at 6:23.
Diaz was laying in the crease after an Afinogenov drive to the net and tried to push the puck under Gerber to freeze it.
Furrer was attempting to clear the puck around the boards while killing a penalty, but his blast from the left circle after Andres Ambuhl won a faceoff went straight into the net. By the start of the second period, the goal was on YouTube.
Afinogenov, with his second of the game, Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov scored in the second frame for Russia, which reached the semifinals at last year's world championship in Moscow, but lost to Finland and settled for a bronze medal.
Evgeny Nabokov made 22 saves for the shutout.
With the score 5-0 on only 14 Russian shots at 13:25 of the second, Gerber was replaced in goal by Jonas Hiller.
And at 6-0 with 6:47 left the game, Russian star Ilya Kovalchuk took a major penalty and a game misconduct for a charge on defenceman Julien Vauclair, who looked to be knocked out and was attended by trainers on the ice for five minutes before refusing a stretcher and skating off the ice.
Kovalchuk, who has yet to score in the tournament, is suspended automatically for the semi-final.
Switzerland's best chance came when Ambuhl had a short-handed breakaway in the second period, but Nabokov sprawled to make the save.
Switzerland last reached the semi-finals while playing at home in 1998. They will play host to the tournament again next year.
