Olympic Hockey Results from Vancouver: USA - Finland & Slovakia - Canada for Medals
Ice hockey: Slovakia ousts reigning champion Sweden
Feb 24, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - Defending Olympic men's hockey champion Sweden was eliminated from the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games on Wednesday, losing 4-3 to Slovakia in a quarter-final game.
After an undefeated run through the preliminary round to claim a bye into the final eight, the Swedes were stunned by a Slovakian squad that advanced to a Friday semi-final game with host Canada, who put out Russia, to decide a berth in Sunday's final.
Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who had not allowed a goal in the Olympics after preliminary-round blankings of Finland and Belarus, surrendered four on only 14 Slovakian shots.
The 1994 and 1998 Soviet Union teams were the last to claim back-to-back Olympic men's hockey gold medals, although the same talent pool also won as the Unified Team in 1992.
Slovakia took a 3-2 lead with 48 seconds remaining in the second period when Pavol Demitra blasted a shot past Lundqvist into the far corner of the goal.
Slovak defender Michal Handzus blocked Lundqvist's view of Demitra on the play until the shot was already past him.
Tomas Kopecky tapped in a rebound to put Slovakia ahead 4-2 with 10:59 remaining but just 38 seconds later, Daniel Alfredsson answered for Sweden, which pressed to the finish could not net the equalizer.
Marian Gaborik, who shares fourth place among this season's National Hockey League goal scorers with 35, and Andrej Sekera scored 37 seconds apart early in the second period to give Slovakia a 2-0 lead.
Gaborik became the first player in the Olympics to put the puck past his NHL New York Rangers teammate, aided by a screening move from Handzus just 7:34 into the period.
The Swedes answered with two goals of their own that were 37 seconds apart.
Patric Hornqvist banked the puck past Jaroslav Halak at 13:49 and Henrik Zetterberg followed when his backhand centering pass deflected into the goal off Slovak defender Milan Jurcina.
Slovakia played without forward Lubos Bartecko, still recovering from a concussion suffered in Tuesday's 4-3 first-round playoff victory over Norway.
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Ice Hockey: Miller, Parise power USA into semis
Feb 24, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - Ryan Miller made 19 saves and Zach Parise scored twice as the United States beat Switzerland 2-0 to reach the Olympic hockey semi-finals on Wednesday.
Parise scored his second goal into an empty net for the Americans who advance to Friday's last four where they will play Finland who beat the Czech Republic by the same 2-0 score later in the day.
Miller, who backstopped Team USA to a shock 5-3 win over Canada in the preliminary round, earned his second win over the Swiss in Vancouver following the 3-1 victory in the opening game of the tournament.
"We moved the puck well. The Swiss are very organized and very frustrating," said Miller. "We knew if we kept working and getting chances we would be good."
Buffalo Sabres goalie Miller won the battle of the NHL netminders as he outduelled Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. Hiller was the busier of the two, making 42 saves, including 18 in the first period.
"He was special in net," Parise said of Hiller. "We just had to keep plugging away."
Parise's first goal came on the powerplay early in the third period with Swiss Philippe Furrer off for tripping. He also scored into an empty net with just 12 seconds left in the game.
"We just kept stressing to be patient and not force anything," Parise said. "In the third we were smarter and kept it simple."
The US had chances to put the game away in the second period but their powerplay failed to capitalize.
During one nine minute stretch the Americans had six minutes with the man advantage but couldn't beat Hiller, who was brilliant in goal for the Swiss.
"I thought we lost it a little bit in the second period," said US coach Ron Wilson, who spent six years playing in the Swiss leagues in the late-1970s.
Forward Sandy Jeannin had the best chance for the Swiss in the third period but his shot from the far boards hit the post and just stayed out.
The Swiss got a break in the final second of the middle frame when Hiller appeared to have deflected the puck into his own net for the first goal of the game.
USA forward Ryan Kesler passed the puck out from the corner and it hit Hiller then flipped in the air.
Hiller then tried to swat it out of trouble with his stick but he got just a piece of it and it bounced off his back into the net as the buzzer sounded to end the period.
The play went to video review and the officials ruled the buzzer had sounded before the puck crossed the goal line.
"We kept putting pucks at him and kept the traffic in front of him. When you are trying that hard it feels really good to put the puck in," Parise said.
The Americans had a goal called back in the third period when a long shot from the point beat Hiller but the goal was waved off because of a delayed penalty on Kesler.
"We have no regrets. We gave everything," Swiss defenceman Luca Sbisa said.
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Ice Hockey: Canada avenges quarter-final loss to Russia Feb 25, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - It took a long-standing rivalry against the mighty Big Red Machine, but Canada finally stamped its authority on the 2010 Olympic hockey quarter-finals with a 7-3 thrashing of top seeded Russia on Wednesday.
"They were much faster than us," said Russian goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. "They came out like gorillas out of a cage."
Dan Boyle and Rick Nash scored 46 seconds apart in a blistering first period to lead gold medal favourite Canada over the two-time reigning World Champions in front of a raucous crowd of 17,740 at Canada Hockey Place arena.
Corey Perry scored twice in the second period and linemate Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists for Canada who avenged a heartbreaking loss to the Russians in the 2006 Turin Games.
Canada, who had romped into a 4-1 lead in the opening frame, advances to the semi-finals on Friday where they will face Slovakia who upset reigning Olympic gold medallist Sweden 4-3.
"We always feel under pressure to play in Canada, that is the way it is," forward Sidney Crosby said of one of the most anticipated games of the tournament. "Today we used it to energize us.
"It is just a quarter-final, and as good as it is, we have to turn the page quickly."
With the defending champions being bounced it means there will be a new champion crowned on Sunday.
In other quarter-finals on Wednesday, the USA blanked Switzerland 2-0 and Finland stopped the Czech Republic's run by the same score.
That sets up a blood feud between the Americans and Finns. Finland won the silver medal in Turin but they had to fight their way through the US to get to the final.
Finland beat the Americans 4-3 in the quarter-finals and the game that included a brawl at the buzzer in which US forward David Backes pummelled defenceman Anssi Salmela, smashing the defenceman's nose to a bloody pulp.
Canada was out for their own measure of revenge on Wednesday as Russia beat the Canadians 2-0 in the quarters at Turin. The loss eliminated Canada and they finished seventh, their worst showing in an Olympics.
"Both sides wanted to win dearly for their countries," Canadian defenceman Scott Niedermayer said of just the second Olympic hockey meeting between the two teams who have a longer history of playing against each other in the World Championships.
Like Turin, Canada got off to a slow start in Vancouver, suffering a 5-3 loss in the preliminary round to the fifth-seeded USA.
But Canadian fans can take solace from the fact that Canada also struggled in the preliminary round of the 2002 Salt Lake Games and went on to win the gold medal.
Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin was a non-factor for much of the game.
Canada's defence interrupted Ovechkin's flow and when he wasn't being pounded into the boards by the defence he was skating back to the Russian bench to replace one of the three sticks he snapped in the first two periods.
"What do you think? I'm disappointed," Ovechkin barked.
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Ice Hockey: Finland set-up semi-final clash with USA Feb 24, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - Mikka Kiprusoff outduelled fellow goaltender Tomas Vokoun as 2006 silver medallists Finland shut out the Czech Republic 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Olympic Games semi-finals.
Kiprusoff, who plays for the Calgary Flames, made 31 saves to solidify his reputation as one of the stingiest goaltenders in the tournament having allowed just four goals in three games for Finland.
"He plays really well," Niklas Hagman said of Kiprusoff. "We have a bunch of good goalies with Niklas Backstrom and Antero Nittymaki. I don't know what they put in the water in Finland."
Finland advances to the semi-finals where they will face the USA who beat Switzerland by the same 2-0 score earlier in the day.
"It's not going to get any easier for us," Kiprusoff said of playing the US. "The most important thing is we keep moving forward."
Hagman scored the winning goal in the third period to break the scoreless tie. With Finland on the powerplay, Hagman deflected a Janne Niskala point shot past Vokoun.
It was the first goal in a tight-checking game with brilliant goaltending from Kiprusoff and Vokoun, who looked unbeatable. Both teams finished with 31 shots on goal.
Forward Valtteri Filppula scored into an empty net for Finland who have now won three of four career meetings with the Czechs in Olympic hockey.
Czech star Jaromir Jagr did not play a regular shift but denied he was playing hurt and instead said it was the decision of the coach to limit his ice time.
"The coach was in a different place, we had lots of penalties, I was fine," Jagr said.
Jagr has had a memorable return to North America, playing for the first time on the small ice in two years.
The former NHL star started quickly in the tournament and had two goals in the preliminary round, but was also on the wrong end of a Alex Ovechkin hit during Russia's 4-2 win on Sunday.
Jagr, who now plays in Russia, finished with 11:48 of playing time and two shots on goal for the losers, who were coming off a dynamic 3-2 overtime win over Latvia on Tuesday.
Feb 24, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - Defending Olympic men's hockey champion Sweden was eliminated from the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games on Wednesday, losing 4-3 to Slovakia in a quarter-final game.
After an undefeated run through the preliminary round to claim a bye into the final eight, the Swedes were stunned by a Slovakian squad that advanced to a Friday semi-final game with host Canada, who put out Russia, to decide a berth in Sunday's final.
Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who had not allowed a goal in the Olympics after preliminary-round blankings of Finland and Belarus, surrendered four on only 14 Slovakian shots.
The 1994 and 1998 Soviet Union teams were the last to claim back-to-back Olympic men's hockey gold medals, although the same talent pool also won as the Unified Team in 1992.
Slovakia took a 3-2 lead with 48 seconds remaining in the second period when Pavol Demitra blasted a shot past Lundqvist into the far corner of the goal.
Slovak defender Michal Handzus blocked Lundqvist's view of Demitra on the play until the shot was already past him.
Tomas Kopecky tapped in a rebound to put Slovakia ahead 4-2 with 10:59 remaining but just 38 seconds later, Daniel Alfredsson answered for Sweden, which pressed to the finish could not net the equalizer.
Marian Gaborik, who shares fourth place among this season's National Hockey League goal scorers with 35, and Andrej Sekera scored 37 seconds apart early in the second period to give Slovakia a 2-0 lead.
Gaborik became the first player in the Olympics to put the puck past his NHL New York Rangers teammate, aided by a screening move from Handzus just 7:34 into the period.
The Swedes answered with two goals of their own that were 37 seconds apart.
Patric Hornqvist banked the puck past Jaroslav Halak at 13:49 and Henrik Zetterberg followed when his backhand centering pass deflected into the goal off Slovak defender Milan Jurcina.
Slovakia played without forward Lubos Bartecko, still recovering from a concussion suffered in Tuesday's 4-3 first-round playoff victory over Norway.
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Ice Hockey: Miller, Parise power USA into semis
Feb 24, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - Ryan Miller made 19 saves and Zach Parise scored twice as the United States beat Switzerland 2-0 to reach the Olympic hockey semi-finals on Wednesday.
Parise scored his second goal into an empty net for the Americans who advance to Friday's last four where they will play Finland who beat the Czech Republic by the same 2-0 score later in the day.
Miller, who backstopped Team USA to a shock 5-3 win over Canada in the preliminary round, earned his second win over the Swiss in Vancouver following the 3-1 victory in the opening game of the tournament.
"We moved the puck well. The Swiss are very organized and very frustrating," said Miller. "We knew if we kept working and getting chances we would be good."
Buffalo Sabres goalie Miller won the battle of the NHL netminders as he outduelled Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. Hiller was the busier of the two, making 42 saves, including 18 in the first period.
"He was special in net," Parise said of Hiller. "We just had to keep plugging away."
Parise's first goal came on the powerplay early in the third period with Swiss Philippe Furrer off for tripping. He also scored into an empty net with just 12 seconds left in the game.
"We just kept stressing to be patient and not force anything," Parise said. "In the third we were smarter and kept it simple."
The US had chances to put the game away in the second period but their powerplay failed to capitalize.
During one nine minute stretch the Americans had six minutes with the man advantage but couldn't beat Hiller, who was brilliant in goal for the Swiss.
"I thought we lost it a little bit in the second period," said US coach Ron Wilson, who spent six years playing in the Swiss leagues in the late-1970s.
Forward Sandy Jeannin had the best chance for the Swiss in the third period but his shot from the far boards hit the post and just stayed out.
The Swiss got a break in the final second of the middle frame when Hiller appeared to have deflected the puck into his own net for the first goal of the game.
USA forward Ryan Kesler passed the puck out from the corner and it hit Hiller then flipped in the air.
Hiller then tried to swat it out of trouble with his stick but he got just a piece of it and it bounced off his back into the net as the buzzer sounded to end the period.
The play went to video review and the officials ruled the buzzer had sounded before the puck crossed the goal line.
"We kept putting pucks at him and kept the traffic in front of him. When you are trying that hard it feels really good to put the puck in," Parise said.
The Americans had a goal called back in the third period when a long shot from the point beat Hiller but the goal was waved off because of a delayed penalty on Kesler.
"We have no regrets. We gave everything," Swiss defenceman Luca Sbisa said.
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Ice Hockey: Canada avenges quarter-final loss to Russia Feb 25, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - It took a long-standing rivalry against the mighty Big Red Machine, but Canada finally stamped its authority on the 2010 Olympic hockey quarter-finals with a 7-3 thrashing of top seeded Russia on Wednesday.
"They were much faster than us," said Russian goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. "They came out like gorillas out of a cage."
Dan Boyle and Rick Nash scored 46 seconds apart in a blistering first period to lead gold medal favourite Canada over the two-time reigning World Champions in front of a raucous crowd of 17,740 at Canada Hockey Place arena.
Corey Perry scored twice in the second period and linemate Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists for Canada who avenged a heartbreaking loss to the Russians in the 2006 Turin Games.
Canada, who had romped into a 4-1 lead in the opening frame, advances to the semi-finals on Friday where they will face Slovakia who upset reigning Olympic gold medallist Sweden 4-3.
"We always feel under pressure to play in Canada, that is the way it is," forward Sidney Crosby said of one of the most anticipated games of the tournament. "Today we used it to energize us.
"It is just a quarter-final, and as good as it is, we have to turn the page quickly."
With the defending champions being bounced it means there will be a new champion crowned on Sunday.
In other quarter-finals on Wednesday, the USA blanked Switzerland 2-0 and Finland stopped the Czech Republic's run by the same score.
That sets up a blood feud between the Americans and Finns. Finland won the silver medal in Turin but they had to fight their way through the US to get to the final.
Finland beat the Americans 4-3 in the quarter-finals and the game that included a brawl at the buzzer in which US forward David Backes pummelled defenceman Anssi Salmela, smashing the defenceman's nose to a bloody pulp.
Canada was out for their own measure of revenge on Wednesday as Russia beat the Canadians 2-0 in the quarters at Turin. The loss eliminated Canada and they finished seventh, their worst showing in an Olympics.
"Both sides wanted to win dearly for their countries," Canadian defenceman Scott Niedermayer said of just the second Olympic hockey meeting between the two teams who have a longer history of playing against each other in the World Championships.
Like Turin, Canada got off to a slow start in Vancouver, suffering a 5-3 loss in the preliminary round to the fifth-seeded USA.
But Canadian fans can take solace from the fact that Canada also struggled in the preliminary round of the 2002 Salt Lake Games and went on to win the gold medal.
Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin was a non-factor for much of the game.
Canada's defence interrupted Ovechkin's flow and when he wasn't being pounded into the boards by the defence he was skating back to the Russian bench to replace one of the three sticks he snapped in the first two periods.
"What do you think? I'm disappointed," Ovechkin barked.
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Ice Hockey: Finland set-up semi-final clash with USA Feb 24, 2010
Vancouver (AFP) - Mikka Kiprusoff outduelled fellow goaltender Tomas Vokoun as 2006 silver medallists Finland shut out the Czech Republic 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Olympic Games semi-finals.
Kiprusoff, who plays for the Calgary Flames, made 31 saves to solidify his reputation as one of the stingiest goaltenders in the tournament having allowed just four goals in three games for Finland.
"He plays really well," Niklas Hagman said of Kiprusoff. "We have a bunch of good goalies with Niklas Backstrom and Antero Nittymaki. I don't know what they put in the water in Finland."
Finland advances to the semi-finals where they will face the USA who beat Switzerland by the same 2-0 score earlier in the day.
"It's not going to get any easier for us," Kiprusoff said of playing the US. "The most important thing is we keep moving forward."
Hagman scored the winning goal in the third period to break the scoreless tie. With Finland on the powerplay, Hagman deflected a Janne Niskala point shot past Vokoun.
It was the first goal in a tight-checking game with brilliant goaltending from Kiprusoff and Vokoun, who looked unbeatable. Both teams finished with 31 shots on goal.
Forward Valtteri Filppula scored into an empty net for Finland who have now won three of four career meetings with the Czechs in Olympic hockey.
Czech star Jaromir Jagr did not play a regular shift but denied he was playing hurt and instead said it was the decision of the coach to limit his ice time.
"The coach was in a different place, we had lots of penalties, I was fine," Jagr said.
Jagr has had a memorable return to North America, playing for the first time on the small ice in two years.
The former NHL star started quickly in the tournament and had two goals in the preliminary round, but was also on the wrong end of a Alex Ovechkin hit during Russia's 4-2 win on Sunday.
Jagr, who now plays in Russia, finished with 11:48 of playing time and two shots on goal for the losers, who were coming off a dynamic 3-2 overtime win over Latvia on Tuesday.