Host nation Russian Federation have been beaten 3-1 by Finland in their quarter-final match at the Winter Olympics.
The Russians got off to a strong start and took advantage of a power play to open the scoring through Ilya Kovalchuk, who produced a precise finish to give his team the lead.
The Finns levelled the score three minutes later through Juhamatti Aaltonnen, who squeezed an angled shot past Russia goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov. They took the lead just before the end of the first period when Teemu Selanne converted from close range.
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov's side pressed for an equaliser but it was Finland who scored next, as they used a powerplay well to extend their lead. Russia's Alexei Yemelin was penalised for tripping and, while Alexander Ovechkin served the timeout, Mikael Granlund slotted in the third goal.
Alexander Syomin forced a fine stop from the Finnish goalkeeper in the closing stages as Russia pushed forward, but Finland's defence held firm to set up a semi-final clash against rivals Sweden.
Steven Toplis
