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MINSK, Belarus -- Defending champion Sweden made the first step in its title defence with a 3-0 victory over Denmark at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday. Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund scored twice in the opening period when the Swedes displayed fast, well organized play that was tough for Denmark to match. "It was nice to have a few goals right away, keep the pressure off and the nerves away," Backlund said. Another Scandinavian superpower, Finland, began its campaign with an upset 3-2 loss to Latvia and Norway blanked Italy 3-0 while Germany prevailed in a shootout to beat Kazakhstan 2-1. Backlund scored his first for Sweden when defenceman Markus Lauridsen deflected his shot to the net with his skate and struck again by precisely directing Joakim Lindstroms slap shot. Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist added the third on a solo effort after intercepting a pass. "Once we got up two to nothing we stopped taking the puck to the net," Nyquist said. "We tried to make too many passes instead of shooting the puck." Latvia failed to capitalize on its second-period power plays when a total of seven Finns were in the penalty box. Finland used its only power play in that period to go 2-1 up with a goal by Petri Kontiola. Kristaps Sotnieks tied the match for Latvia -- the quarterfinalist in the Sochi Winter Olympics -- in the third before Arturs Kulda netted the winner on a power play. It was the first victory for Latvia over Finland at the worlds. Thomas Oppenheimer scored the decisive goal in the shootout to give Germany the win. Germany outshot its opponent 47-20 but Kazakhstan went ahead 1-0 after a goal from Andrei Gavrilin. The Germans answered through Matthias Plachta at the end of the first period. "I have to look at the positive," German coach Pat Cortina said. "We put the puck to the net and that is extremely important for our team." Niklas Roest opened the scoring in the first period for Norway, Morten Ask made it 2-0 midway through the game and captain Anders Bastiansen rounded off the victory on a breakaway in the third. "I tried to shoot early to surprise the goalie and it went in, so I was really happy," Bastiansen said. "We did a good job. We won and thats the most important thing." Goaltender Lars Haugen made 15 saves for the shutout, but needed help from his posts on two shots by defenceman Daniel Sullivan in the second. "We had a little difficulty in the beginning, adjusting to the speed," Italy coach Tom Pokel said. "However, as the game went on we got better and better. So it was a good game for us." Italy and Kazakhstan are both newcomers to the top division this year. Later Saturday, Canada hopes to rebound from Fridays 3-2 loss to France with a win against Slovakia, while the United States faces Switzerland a day after it routed host Belarus 6-1. Wholesale Shoes . He will play 10th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in Sundays final, after the Spanish left-hander defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-4. Shoes From China . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.cheapshoesgoodquality.com/. Luke Wileman and I stood in the corridor outside of the Vancouver Whitecaps dressing room at BC Place in Vancouver. Cheap Nike Shoes . -- Billy Andrade hasnt played much competitive golf over the past four years. Cheap Shoes Authentic . They were expecting him there all along. The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared "to return to normal basketball activity," a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series.NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Bernhard Langer maintained a two-stroke lead Saturday in the Champions Tours Toshiba Classic, making four birdies in a late five-hole stretch for a 5-under 66. Langer, the 2008 winner, had a 13-under 129 total at Newport Beach Country Club. The 56-year-old German won the season-opening event in Hawaii in January for his 19th victory on the 50-and-over tour. Kenny Perry and Chien Soon Lu were tied for second. Perry made a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th for a 65, and Lu shot 66. "I have to get off to a hot start and make birdies," Perry said. "I know hes going to be there at the end. I have to play my best when I go up against him. He doesnt make a mistake." Fred Couples, Scott Dunlap, Esteban Toledo and Jeff Hart were 10 under. Langer opened with a birdie, then made his first bogey of the tournament on his next hole. He added two more birdies on the front nine but also had another bogey. "I had a couple of hiccups on the front nine," Langer said. "I felt I was playing ok. I told my caddy, Lets try and play a good back nine and I did." On tthe back nine, Langer birdied Nos.dddddddddddd 13, 14, 15 and 17. One No. 15, he hit son Jason in the gallery on his approach shot. Langer then hit a flop shot over a bunker to 10 feet and made the birdie putt. "I was told it hit him," Langer said. "But it was more like it bounced a few times and rolled up to him. He was OK." Perry also had a strange incident. On No. 9, he tried to cut the corner on the dogleg right and caught a palm tree about 37 yards from the tee box. Fortunately, the ball fell to the side of the tree. Perry hit a 4-iron layup, followed by a 9-iron to 4 feet and made the putt for par. "That holes got me," Perry said. "If I had to play a lot of holes like it, I wouldnt play much." Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson made a 30-foot eagle putt on the final hole for 63, tied for the best round of the day. It was the first time on the Champions Tour the 64-year-old Watson has bettered his age on the tour. He was tied for 12th at 8 under. "When you are 64, it doesnt happen that much anymore," Watson said. "I have been rolling in a lot of putts though." ' ' '