from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

There won't be any miracles in Buffalo this season, but Ted Nolan sure has pulled one off here in Sochi, coaching Latvia into its first Olympic quarterfinal after a 3-1 upset of Switzerland on Tuesday night.

And it's clear that Nolan's impact on his players is as much heartfelt as it is X's and O's.

"He's been a huge part of us," former Bruins and Senators winger Kaspars Daugavins said of Nolan. "We never had a coach that actually believes in the players. It's always been like army-style where everybody just has to work hard and you never get a tap on your shoulders, saying 'Good job, buddy.' He brings a different spirit on the team. He actually makes us believe that we're actually a good team. I've been to a lot of world championships and an Olympics before and we never had a feeling that we can actually win something. We just went out there and played."

Now Latvia needs another upset. A mother of one: Team Canada in the quarterfinals Wednesday night.

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