An all-round team defensive effort, including three CHL players from the SM-liiga, helped Finland beat the Czech Republic and get into the World Championship Final. There, they face Russia, who beat an SHL-packed Swedish lineup in the other semi-final.

by Derek O'Brien

MINSK - The match-ups are set for the final day of the World Hockey Championships in Minsk after Russia beat Sweden 3-1 and Finland shut out the Czech Republic 3-0. The Swedes and the Czechs will face off for the bronze medal, then the Russians and Finns will duke it out for gold and silver.

The Swedes silenced the partisan pro-Russia crowd at Minsk Arena early, as a familiar Skelleftea AIK combination opened the scoring. Joakim Lindstrom took a pass close to the boards in the neutral zone and sent linemate Oscar Moller in alone. Moller's low shot beat Sergei Bobrovsky at the 19-second mark to make it 1-0 Sweden.

"I play with (Lindstrom) pretty much all year, so we know each other pretty well," Moller said of the chemistry between himself and his AIK linemate. "It was a good start for us. Just the way we wanted to quiet the building. It was too bad we didn't get the second goal. If we did, maybe it would have finished differently."

Indeed, that was as good as things got for the Swedes, as the Russians scored twice before the first period ended and added a third goal in the second, winning the game 3-1. Tempers flared late in the game, both on the ice and on the benches, as the Swedes picked up 37 minutes in penalties in the game compared to 10 for the Russians.

"The main thing is we took too many penalties," said team captain Joel Lundqvist, who plays for Frolunda HC. "It's tough to beat a team like Russia if you take too many penalties. That was the main thing today."

In the later semi-final, Finland got a goal in each period and defeated the Czech Republic 3-0. The offence was led by 2 goals from Jori Lehtera and a goal and an assist from Jarkko Immonen, while the entire team played a spectacular defensive game. The Tappara Tampere pair of Pekka Jormakka and Olli Palola played together on the third line, combining for five shots on goal. IFK Helsinki's Iiro Parkanen, the hero of Finland's quarter-final win over Canada, had two shots.

"We all feel really good as a team right now," said Palola, explaining how the Finns have overcome a rocky road through the group stage to play a solid team game now. "Before the game, we all knew we could win. Every game we're getting better, and we're going to need our best game for last."

Finland's last game is the last game of the World Championships, against Russia at 20:00 CET. Before that, the Czechs face the Swedes. Once again, both games feature several players on CHL clubs.

Sweden - Czech Republic, 15:30 CET (bronze medal)

SWE: Simon Hjalmarsson, Mattias Sjogren, Daniel Rahimi (all Linkoping), Jonas Ahnelov, Joel Lundqvist (both Frolunda), Dennis Rasmussen (Vaxjo), Magnus Nygren (Farjestad), Joakim Lindstrom, Jimmie Ericsson, Oscar Moller, Niclas Burstrom (all Skelleftea), Johan Fransson (Lulea).

CZE: Tomas Rolinek (Sparta), Ondrej Vitasek (Liberec).

Russia - Finland, 20:00 CET (gold-silver medals)

FIN: Pekka Jormakka, Olli Palola (both Tappara), Iiro Pakarinen (HIFK).