Russia defeats Belarus in shootout 4-3

Belarus defenseman Ruslan Salei puts his hand over his eyes after the team's 4-3 loss to Russia in a shootout at the IIHF world hockey championships Friday, May 9, 2008, in Quebec City. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Francis Vachon)

QUEBEC CITY—Maxim Afinogenov scored two goals, Alex Ovechkin added another and Alexei Morozov had the winner in the shootout to give Russia a 4-3 victory over Belarus in a qualifying-round game at the world hockey championship Friday.

Earlier Friday, Finland beat Latvia 2-1 at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Morozov beat goalie Vitaly Koval with a backhand in the shootout to keep Russia undefeated in the tournament. Koval made 52 saves in regulation.

Andrei Mikhalev, Dimitry Dudik and Alexei Ugarov scored for Belarus in regulation. Ugarov had a chance to keep the shootout going in the third round but didn't score.

Also on Friday, Slovakia beat Slovenia 5-1 in a relegation-bracket game at Halifax. France earned a 3-2 victory over Italy in another relegation game in Quebec City.

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