Switzerland's Thierry Paterlini (23) in front of goaltender Martin Brodeur during first period hockey action at the 2006 Winter Olympic Saturday, Feb. 18, 2006 in Turin. (CP / Ryan Remiorz)

Switzerland's Paul di Pietro, left, celebrates as Canada's Kris Draper skates by after the Swiss scored a second goal during the second period during a hockey game at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games Saturday, Feb. 18, 2006 in Turin, Italy. (AP / Julie Jacobson) A large contingent of ecstatic Swiss fans at Torino Esposizione arena were singing and waving their flags as their underdog team defeated Canada for the first time ever in the Olympics.

Switzerland scores big hockey upset over Canada

Updated Sat. Feb. 18 2006 11:36 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Switzerland scored a shocking 2-0 upset over Canada at the Torino Games on Saturday with the help of Ontario native Paul DiPietro and NHL goalie Martin Gerber.

DiPietro, born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., scored in the game's first and second periods -- giving a boost to an already high-flying Swiss team that beat the powerful Czechs on Thursday.

Gerber was outstanding, stopping all of the 49 shots that the high-powered Canadians launched at the Swiss net (Switzerland managed only 18 shots in the entire game).

A large contingent of ecstatic Swiss fans at Torino Esposizione arena were singing and waving their flags as their underdog team defeated Canada for the first time ever in the Olympics.

After opening the tournament with relatively-easy wins over Italy and Germany, Team Canada was plagued today by some sloppy play.

A turnover in the neutral zone by forward Joe Thornton allowed DiPietro to get a shot on Canadian goaltender Martin Brodeur in the first period.

After a rebound, DiPietro got a pass back from Patric Della Rossa and he scored into an open net.

He then scored in the second after converting a two-man advantage to put the Swiss ahead 2-0 -- where the score remained.

It's not as if Canada didn't have scoring chances.

They went on the power play five times and had a 30-second two-man advantage in the first period -- but they were stoned by Gerber, the netminder for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.

"It's really special," Gerber said in a post-game interview. "It is something I can always remember.

"We had to be perfect in the first 10 minutes and not let them take control or they would just run over us."

Canada's coach Pat Quinn admitted that the Swiss played a harder, better game than Canada. He denied that his team underestimated them.

"Our scouting report was they work hard," said Quinn.

"We looked like we wanted to play European hockey," he said. "The Swiss team came to play."

Canada and Switzerland now share a 2-1 win-loss record in preliminary round play. Canada plays Finland on Sunday, while Switzerland faces Germany.

DiPietro is married to a Swiss woman and has played in the Swiss league since 1998-99.

The highlight of his NHL career was playing for the 1993 Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens. He scored 13 points in 17 playoff games in that series.

In 192 NHL games, DiPietro also collected 31 goals and 49 assists with Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles.

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