Updated Tuesday, May 13, 2008 0:00 am TWN, AP Finland overcomes deficit, beats U.S. at hockey worldsAfter Koivu scored with 3:50 left, the United States’ Adam Burish was ejected for butt-ending a Finland player. As time expired, U.S. forward Dustin Brown checked a Finnish defenseman into the boards with a hit to the head, touching off a melee that featured a fight between David Backes of the United States and Amsso Salmela of Finland. Earlier Sunday, in Quebec City, Andres Ambuhl and Sandy Jeannin scored early and Switzerland went on to beat Denmark 7-2, earning Sweden a place in the quarterfinals. And Latvia won for only the second time in five games, beating Norway 4-1 to improve its chances of claiming the last remaining quarterfinal berth. The United States took a two-goal lead to the third after scoring twice in the second. But Finland (4-0) scored three times on 25 shots in the final frame. Teemu Selanne scored the tying goal on a cross-ice pass from Saku Koivu after Ville Koistinen put Finland on the board during a two-man advantage. Koivu’s go-ahead goal came on a power-play and ensured that the United States (2-2) can finish no better than third in its group, though the U.S. has already qualified for the quarterfinals. Finland is a point back of Canada atop the group, and the two face each other on Monday to decide the top seed going into the quarterfinals. In Quebec City, Marc Reichert, Thierry Paterlini, Paul DiPietro, Philippe Furrer and Beat Forster also scored for the Swiss, who outshot the Danes 54-20, including 23-2 in the second period. Switzerland, which upset Sweden 4-2 earlier in the tournament, moved temporarily into a tie with the Czech Republic for second place in their qualifying round group with nine points. The Czechs close out round robin play later Sunday against Sweden. The Swedes, fourth in the group, cannot be overtaken by Belarus or Denmark, clinching a place for them in the final eight. With Switzerland leading 6-0 in the third period, last-place Denmark scored twice. Morten Madsen scored on a shot that deflected off Swiss defenseman Goran Bezina’s leg and Kim Staal beat Martin Gerber on a penalty shot. A giveaway by defenseman Andreas Andreasen allowed Ambuhl to break in untouched and beat American-born goalie Patrick Galbraith 2:10 into the game. Only 1:32 later, Julien Vauclair went around Andreasen to feed Jeannin for a goal. Reichert scored 50 seconds into the middle frame, before Paterlini and DiPietro took turns setting each other up for goals. Furrer scored early and Forster added a power-play goal for the Swiss in the third. In Halifax, Herberts Vasiljevs’ goal late in the first period was the eventual for Latvia, who climbed within a point of Norway for fourth place in their qualifying round group. Martins Cipulis, Mikelis Redlihs and Lauris Darzins, into an empty net, also scored for the Latvians, who need a win over Germany on Monday to advance. Lars Erik Spets replied for Norway, which must beat the United States and hope for a German win over Latvia to advance. | Hockey Breaking News Most Read |