HALIFAX — Different continents, same partners.
The 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation world championship is looking a lot like the 2007 world championship as the four teams still standing head into tomorrow's semi-finals.
Last year in Moscow, it was Canada against Sweden and Russia against Finland.
This year in Quebec City, it will be déjà vu, as Canada whipped Norway 8-2 to reach the playoff and Finland won a 3-2 victory over the United States to get into the final rounds.
Finland's Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne celebrate Sami Lepisto's overtime goal against USA. (Reuters)
It was a dramatic victory for Finland, as defenceman Sami Lepisto scored 3 minutes 59 seconds into overtime on what looked like an innocent lob from the point. U.S. goaltender Robert Esche, however, had his view blocked by Finland's Saku Koivu, and somehow the puck ended up in the back of the net.
It marked a miserable end to a bad night for Esche, who let in an early first-period goal by Tuomo Ruutu on a backhand shot Esche might have had, and, in the second, defenceman Janne Niskala scored on a hard shot from the point that the U.S. goalie could see all the way.
The youthful American team rallied in the third period to tie the score on a dramatic goal off the rush by Phil Kessel, followed by a short-handed goal by Drew Stafford that Finnish goaltender Niklas Backstrom might well have had.
The Finns outshot the Americans 33-24 in what was a remarkably clean game after their previous match, in which 180 minutes in penalties were called and the Finns came back to win in the third period.
For the Americans, it was a valiant effort as they showcased the young and quick style of team that will be two years older and more mature in 2010, when the Winter Games come to Vancouver.
Sweden 3, Czech Republic 2 (OT)
In Quebec City, the no-name Swedes are starting to look familiar.
Mattias Weinhandl scored 3 minutes 15 seconds into overtime yesterday to give Sweden a 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic and a berth in the semi-finals, where it will face Canada tomorrow.
It is the eighth consecutive year Sweden will play in the semi-finals, where it lost 4-1 to Canada last year in Moscow.
But this may be the sweetest of all, as the Swedes did it without most of their top NHL stars, such as Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg and a handful of the Detroit Red Wings now battling for the Stanley Cup such as Niklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom.
“It was a tough situation, a lot of guys said no thanks,” said Sundin's Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Anton Stralman. “There's nothing you can do about that.
“But it's good to show everyone they were wrong. We have a good group of players who play back in Sweden, so it's good to feel that confidence in the group and to show everyone what we can do out there.”
Sweden's Patric Hornqvist and Czech Tomas Rolinek exchanged goals in the second period.
The Czechs took the lead when Radim Vrbata scored on a penalty shot after he was tripped on a breakaway by Jonas Frogren, but Marcus Nilson tied the score on a disputed goal with 3:38 left in regulation time to force a 10-minute, 4-on-4 overtime period.
In overtime, a Swedish power play had just ended when Weinhandl shoved the puck into heavy traffic near the crease and saw it pinball off bodies and pads and slide into the net.
“It hit some skates and sticks and probably hit everything and just went in,” said Weinhandl, a former NHL forward now playing for Linkoping in Sweden. “It was a really lucky goal and that's what we needed.”
The Czechs were not pleased that Nilson's goal was allowed to stand after Rickard Wallin backed Holmstrom-style into goaltender Milan Hnilicka and knocked him over. Hnilicka got back up, but wasn't set when Nilson scored.
“It doesn't matter if it was good or not, it's a goal,” Czech coach Alois Hadamchik said. “It's too bad we couldn't score again when we were leading 2-1 and let Sweden tie it up.”
Wallin's plea was not guilty.
“That's the way to score goals nowadays,” said the forward for the Farjestads club in Sweden. “We have to have someone going at the net.
“Obviously, he got a little distracted and maybe that's why he let the puck through. But we talk a lot about going to the net and getting shots through.”
However they did it, the Swedes have gone further than anyone could have predicted without their star shooters.
But they do have an ace goaltender in Henrik Lundqvist, and the return from injury of veteran Kenny Jonsson was a big boost to their defence.
“We don't have our best team, but maybe that's in our favour because we don't have the pressure with that,” Weinhandl said. “We can just play our game.”
Their game is a cautious, trapping strategy that looks to create turnovers. Coach Bengt Gustafsson admits it may not be fun to watch for the spectators, but it has worked.
“With the personnel we have, with the situation the way it is, we have to play a tight game and not let the opponents have big chances,” Gustafsson said. “And we have to use our good offensive players when the time is there.
“We're not going to change anything going into the semi-finals.”
They will play Canada on its home turf, on the smaller NHL-size rink, before what is sure to be a hostile crowd at the Pepsi Colisée.
“To play Canada at home, it's one of the biggest challenges you can have,” Wallin said. “We have, in my opinion, the best goaltender in the tournament and we have some big bodies on defence.
“So the key for us is to play good defence and hopefully take advantage of the opportunities we get.”
Russia 6, Switzerland 0
In Quebec City, Switzerland put two pucks into its own net in the opening seven minutes to help Russia to a 6-0 victory.
Russia, seeking its first world championship since 1993, advanced to the semi-finals and will face Finland.
Alexander Semin opened the scoring 1:14 into the game with Alexander Ovechkin screening goalie Martin Gerber.
Gerber had no chance as Maxim Afinogenov got credit for the goal that Swiss defenceman Raphael Diaz pushed into his own net with his hand at 2:18, and Danis Zaripov was given a goal that defenceman Philippe Furrer shot into his own net at 6:23.
Diaz was laying in the crease after an Afinogenov drive to the net and tried to push the puck under Gerber to freeze it.
Furrer was attempting to clear the puck around the boards while killing a penalty, but his blast from the left circle after Andres Ambuhl won a faceoff went straight into the net. By the start of the second period, the goal was on YouTube.
Afinogenov, with his second of the game, Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov scored in the second frame for Russia, which reached the semifinals at last year's world championship in Moscow, but lost to Finland and settled for a bronze medal.
Evgeny Nabokov made 22 saves for the shutout.
With the score 5-0 on only 14 Russian shots at 13:25 of the second, Gerber was replaced in goal by Jonas Hiller.
And at 6-0 with 6:47 left the game, Russian star Ilya Kovalchuk took a major penalty and a game misconduct for a charge on defenceman Julien Vauclair, who looked to be knocked out and was attended by trainers on the ice for five minutes before refusing a stretcher and skating off the ice.
Kovalchuk, who has yet to score in the tournament, is suspended automatically for the semi-final.
Switzerland's best chance came when Ambuhl had a short-handed breakaway in the second period, but Nabokov sprawled to make the save.
Switzerland last reached the semi-finals while playing at home in 1998. They will play host to the tournament again next year.
With a report from The Canadian Press
