Defending champions Canada and 2002 runners-up United States were sent crashing out of the Winter Olympics ice hockey tournament on Wednesday.
Their quarterfinal elimination set the stage for Russia and Finland to renew their long-time Olympic rivalry as they clash in the semifinals for the second time in three Winter Games.
Sweden and 2005 world champions Czech Republic will square off in the other semifinal on Friday.
Russia, the bronze medallists at Salt Lake City four years ago, blanked mighty Canada 2-0, while Sweden trounced Switzerland 6-2.
Finland held on to edge the United States 4-3 while the Czechs ended previously unbeaten Slovakia’s run of success with a 3-1 win.
Russia beat Finland 7-4 in the semifinals of the 1998 Nagano Games and they also met in the 1992 Albertville quarterfinals which was also won by Russia 6-1.
Russia’s Alexander Ovechkin scored a powerplay goal and Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves as Russia shocked top seed Canada on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old Ovechkin scored his fifth goal of the tournament and captain Alexei Kovalev iced the win with his fourth with just 13 seconds left in the game in front of 4 130 at the Turino Esposizioni arena.
”We did it. We beat a great team,” Ovechkin said. ”All the people in my country will be jumping up and down and will drink a lot of vodka.”
Canada won gold in Salt Lake and the world championships in 2003 and 2004, but the Russians played with more confidence.
The two have dominated the Olympics by winning 15 of the 20 gold medals handed out since the 1920 Antwerp Games but this was their first meeting since 1992.
Russia now has an 8-1 head-to-head record over Canada.
”It hurts and it is heartbreaking,” Canadian defenceman Chris Pronger said. ”We battled hard.”
Finland survived a late onslaught from the United States to remain the only unbeaten team with six consecutive wins.
The Finns were two goals up and flying with five minutes to go until Brian Gionta touched in a Chris Drury cross, giving the US hope of rescuing a disappointing campaign.
Rick DiPietro left his goal and joined the attack as the United States rattled off 16 final-period shots to Finland’s three.
However, they failed to find the equaliser and end the Games with just one win — against lowly Kazakhstan.
The United States must now wait at least another four years for their first Olympic title since 1980 — which followed the ”Miracle on Ice” win against the Soviet Union played exactly 26 years ago to the day.
”I don’t think USA can have another Miracle on Ice but I can tell you that it’s not an easy thing to do, to be successful and to win a gold medal,” said American coach Peter Laviolette.
”It would be another accomplishment but short of a miracle.”
The Czech Republic muscled local rivals Slovakia out of the Olympics in a quarterfinal crackling with national tension.
The 1998 champions scored in each of the first two periods and put up a defensive wall before a helter-skelter last 20 minutes.
Marian Gaborik gave the Slovakians hope in the last period but the Czechs held out, with Martin Straka putting away a rebound in the dying seconds to round off the scoring.
Captain Mats Sundin scored two goals and Peter Forsberg added a pair of assists to lift Sweden to a win over the seventh seeded Swiss.
Sundin scored just over three minutes apart in the second period.
This is the first time Sweden has been in an Olympic semifinal since their gold medal triumph over Canada in 1994. – Sapa-AFP