MILAN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Reigning Olympic champions Finland made a remarkable comeback to beat Switzerland 3-2 in overtime and reach the men's ice hockey semi-finals at Milano Rho Arena on Wednesday, with Artturi Lehkonen netting the winner.
Switzerland let a two-goal advantage slip away, which they had held from the opening period, as the Finns scored twice in the final period, including the equaliser with just over a minute left in regulation.
In sudden death, Lehkonen kept his nerve in front of goal to end the contest just over three minutes into overtime.
"Unreal, I mean, it always feels good to score a goal in overtime, a little bit more in the Olympics," Lehkonen said.
"We were talking through it in the intermission that we just want to keep grinding and keep plugging away," he added. "And we know that the chances will come and we'll bury one or two and grind out to victory."
Finland, who have medalled at four of the last five Games, came close to going home empty-handed. But it ended in jubilation as Lehkonen was swamped by his teammates after his ice-cool finish.
Finland failed to register a shot in the opening seven minutes, which included a power play, and were made to pay by a clinical Swiss side who netted twice on five shots in a cagey opening period.
Switzerland took the lead in the 15th minute, when Ken Jager played a pass from behind the goal and Damien Riat tapped the puck into a gaping net with goalie Juuse Saros scrambling to get back in position.
Just over a minute later, Nino Niederreiter smacked a one-timer from distance and the puck sailed past the screened Saros.
Swiss goalie Leonardo Genoni continued to keep the Finns at bay despite Finland unleashing twice as many shots on goal as Switzerland in the second period, and the favourites went into the final period still trailing by two.
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The Finns finally found the net with just over six minutes left as Eetu Luostarinen's pass found Sebastian Aho, who sent his shot over Genoni's shoulder.
"That was a big goal, obviously," Aho said. "Huge goal at the time, we needed something and great play by Eetu on the blue line, who saw it across the ice."
Pulling their goalie with over two minutes left paid off as Miro Heiskanen smashed the puck goalwards and it deflected off the stick of a Swiss defender before finding the net.
In overtime, Anton Lundell played the perfect pass to send Lehkonen through one-on-one with the goalie, and the Finn showed nerves of steel when it counted.
Finland and the other three semi-finalists will be re-seeded, with the top seed playing the lowest and the second and third seeds facing off on Friday. Slovakia and Canada booked their semi-final spots, with the United States playing Sweden with the last final-four slot on the line.
(Reporting by Trevor StynesEditing by Bill Berkrot)
