U.S. Beats Belarus at World Championships The United States survived an early scare to beat Belarus, 5-3, while Finland turned on the style to defeat France, 7-1, in Group H games at the world championships in Helsinki, Finland, on Thursday. The United States was leading, 2-0, and coasting after seven minutes, but Belarus tied the score. Nate Thompson of the Tampa Bay Lightning got the go-ahead goal, putting the United States ahead when he rounded the net and scored off a defender's skate. Bobby Ryan and Paul Stastny added third-period goals before Belarus scored late. The American team has three wins and a defeat. Finland scored four goals in the second period on the way to a victory against France, which gave up four goals on power plays. Finland has won all four of its group games. Russia beat Denmark, 3-1, in a Group S game in Stockholm, while the Czech Republic upended Latvia, 3-1, in a late game. The Czechs moved past the Latvians into third place behind Sweden and Russia, which each have perfect records after four games.