Team Finland's Antero Niittymaki allowed just two goals during the preliminary round.

Five for Finland
By Rich Libero | NHL.com
Feb. 21, 2006

Team USA is Finland's opponent in the Olympic Quarterfinals on Wednesday at 11:35 a.m. ET.

"It will be a very interesting game," Finland's captain Saku Koivu said. "They have a lot of dangerous players, so we have to be ready. We have to be focused on them, on our defensive, but also our offensive game."

Niko Kapanen and Koivu recorded the only goals for Finland, which out-shot the Germans 23-18. Frederik Norrena, an 8th-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2002, earned the shutout, giving Antero Niittymaki a rest.

Italy ties Swiss, plants hockey seed

Switzerland has revealed themselves as the Davids in a tournament full of Goliaths after they scored victories over Canada and the Czechs -- two teams favored for medals.

Related Links NHL.com's Olympics section 2006 Olympics Archive

But Tuesday in front of a packed house of rabid Italian fans, the Swiss needed a late goal by Ivo Ruthemann to forge a 3-3 tie and avoid becoming upset victims themselves.

Ruthemann's goal came with 3:22 to play in the game and was the result of Mario Chittaroni's ill-advised pass in the Italian zone that led to a turnover. Carrying the puck out of the Italian zone, Chittaroni inexplicably tried the throw the puck across the Italian slot. Not only was the pass a bad decision, it also lacked execution as Chittaroni nearly whiffed.

"I am sorry for that pass I made," Chittaroni said. "Hockey is like that and it can happen, but that's a mistake you make when you're 21, not 39."

"We played very good," Italian captain Joe Busillo said. "We knew that Switzerland was a hard-working team. We fought and got a tie. We played to win, but in hockey anything can happen. When they scored the third goal, Mario did a little mistake, but I think he was one of our best players in the tournament."

The Italian team, backed by a boisterous crowd, took a thank-you lap with their sticks aloft to thank their fans.

"I just want to say 'thank you' to all our supporters," Busillo said. "They were wonderful during all our five Olympic matches. I think our sport can grow up in Italy after the Olympics."

Hockey is a regional sport in Italy and the Games represented for many a first glimpse of the game. Despite getting blown out early in the tournament, the Italian fans never lost their enthusiasm and cheered each time their team crossed into the attacking zone.

"We need to use this as a steeping stone to grow the game of hockey here in Italy because there is a tradition here," goaltender Jason Muzzatti said.

Switzerland moves onto the quarterfinals for what will be the country's biggest international game ever. The Swiss will face Sweden.

"Tomorrow we have to fight for our lives," Swiss forward Martin Pluss said. "We need our energy for tomorrow and we have to play our best game or we will be out."

Latvia falls to Kazakhstan

Yevgeniy Koreshkov and Kazakhstan finished fifth in Group B.

Kazakhstan had been showing signs of getting better as the Olympic tournament stretched on. Their defense was solid, holding Russia to one goal and Slovakia to two.

Tuesday at the Torino Esposizioni, they combined both offense and defense to defeat Latvia, 5-2, thanks to a three-goal third period.

Kazakhstan finished fifth in Group B with a 1-4-0 record. The Latvians finished last after opening the Games with a 3-3 tie against the United States. They allowed a whopping 29 goals in five games (5.8 goals-against per game).

"We planned to win this game," Latvian coach Leonids Beresnevs said.

Playing for a match up?

Accusations were flying around Torino that Sweden was looking to lose intentionally so they could avoid playing Canada in the quarterfinals stage.

Judging by the looks on the Swedish bench, none of the players were too happy when Slovakia built an early 1-0 lead en route to a 3-0 victory.

The Slovaks, along with Finland, captured their group with a perfect 5-0-0 record. They will face their archrivals, the Czech Republic, tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. ET. Sweden faces Switzerland, the No. 2 seed from Group A, at 10:30 am. ET.

"I don't think either team tried to kill each other out there," Swedish center Peter Forsberg said. "But it was definitely a decent game. They were better than us today. They had a couple more chances than us on breakaways."

When you're a pro athlete, the tug of competitiveness isn't easy to put aside. "You can save energy and still want to win the game," Swedish defenseman Kenny Jonsson said. "We wanted to win."

The Slovaks didn't think the game easy either.

"I didn't see them play weak," Slovak forward Peter Bondra said. "They are a talented team. We played a very disciplined team and didn't give them the chance to open the game up. We played our game and I'm very happy about it."

The Slovaks are also looking forward to facing the Czechs, feeling that they are better off taking whomever the hockey gods dealt.

"It's hard to choose your opponent," Bondra aid. "If you calculate too much, you get burned. You can't buy yourself to the next round."