US falls to Finland 3-2 in overtime

5/14/2008 10:36 PM

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) -Sami Lepisto's goal at 3:59 of overtime led Finland to a 3-2 victory over the United States on Wednesday night in the world hockey quarterfinals.

Lepisto took a pass from Saku Koivu at the point and fired the puck through a crowd and underneath U.S. goalie Robert Esche for the win. Finland advanced to play Russia in the semifinals Friday at Quebec City.

``It's hard to lose like this, especially the way we played the third period,'' U.S. coach John Tortorella said. ``We lost a tied faceoff. Really, we won it, but we didn't come up with the loose puck and it ends up going in the net.''

Tuomo Ruutu and Anssi Salmela also scored for Finland, which held a 2-0 lead with less than 5 minutes remaining in regulation.

The Americans rallied with goals by Phil Kessel and Drew Stafford 37 seconds apart to force overtime. The loss marked the seventh time in the last nine years the U.S. team failed to advance past the quarterfinals.

``It's a disappointment,'' U.S. forward Zach Parise said. ``We didn't quit. Then, all of a sudden, you're packing your bags. It's a tough one for us right now.''

Kessel broke Niklas Backstrom's bid for a shutout with 4:16 left in the third when he redirected a point shot by Tim Gleaston into the top corner. Less than a minute later, Stafford broke down the wing short-handed and fired a shot far side on Backstrom.

Finland had a great opportunity to score the winner in the final three minutes when it went on a power play, including a two-man advantage for 17 seconds, but the Americans were able to kill it and send the game to overtime.

``When they scored their second goal, we came back stronger than we did the whole third period,'' Koivu said. ``You know, sometimes you get lucky. You get the bounce that you need. It feels good.''