Finland makes Olympic final, to face Swedes or Russians

BEIJING (AP) — Finland advanced to the men’s hockey gold medal game by beating surprise semifinalist Slovakia 2-0 Friday.

Tournament MVP candidate Sakari Manninen scored his fourth goal of the Olympics. Former Florida Panthers goaltender Harri Sateri made 28 saves for the shutout, and Harri Pesonen sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute.

The Finns will play the winner of a semifinal between the Swedes and Russians in the final Sunday.

“(The Swedes) are old rivals, and Russia, well, they are both our neighbors,” Finland coach Jukka Jalonen said. “It does not matter. We don’t have favorites.”

Finland is looking for its first Olympic men’s hockey gold medal. It was last in the final in 2006 against Sweden.

“It’s huge for everybody individually, as a team and as a hockey country,” Sateri said. “It is a big thing.”

Slovakia will play the loser of the other semifinal for the bronze, going for its first hockey medal of any kind since the breakup of Czechoslovakia.

“It would be a huge achievement, but it will be a tough game,” said 17-year-old forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who has five goals at the Olympics. “If we do our best, then I’m not worried that we can’t win the game.”

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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed.

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