Vancouver (AFP) - Finland came back from 3-1 down to defeat Slovakia 5-3 in the bronze medal game of the Olympic men's ice hockey tournament on Saturday, to capture their fourth medal since the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games.
Olli Jokinen scored two third period goals, including the game winner, for Finland who are the only repeat medallist in the Vancouver hockey tournament.
The Finns won the silver four years ago at the 2006 Turin Games. Russia (bronze) and Sweden (gold) were eliminated in the quarter-finals in Vancouver.
The Slovaks made the Finns work for the win as they buzzed the Finnish goal in the final minutes trying to get the equalizer just like they did against Canada in the semi-finals.
Finnish goalie Miikka Kiprusoff kept the puck out his net but he also had help from the post and his defencemen on different scoring chances.
Jokinen got the winner with just over 11 minutes left in the final period as he took a pass and squeezed through a pair of Slovak defenders before backhanding the puck between the legs of goaltender Jaroslav Halak to make it 4-3.
Forward Valtteri Filppula got the insurance goal into an empty net to close out the scoring for Finland whose roster includes a number of aging stars who are likely playing in their last Olympics.
Finnish national team mainstays Teemu Selanne and Ville Peltonen are nearing the end of their international careers.
02-28-2010, 05:19 PM
Finland battle back to capture bronze
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