Phantom goal helps Finland edge USA at Worlds

Hockey Betting Lines

05/11/2008 - Halifax, Nova Scotia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finland scored three times in the third period, including what turned out to be a phantom goal, to upend the United States with a contentious 3-2 victory at the 2008 World Hockey Championships.

Teemu Selanne ended with a goal and an assist, while Ville Koistinen and Mikko Koivu also tallied for Finland, which rallied from a 2-0 deficit and is within a point of idle Canada for the top spot in the Group F standings. The two squads play on Monday to decide the winner.

Sunday's game, though, was controversial and even ugly at the end, as the IIHF acknowledged after the game that Koistinen's goal -- Finland's first, just 2:12 into the final stanza -- should not have counted, as it entered the side of the net. Even after several replays, the goal was allowed to stand. After the game, the governing body said the video judge was fired from the rest of the tournament.

But the goal, as it happened, counted, and Selanne scored the equalizer halfway through the third. Koivu's tally with 3:50 remaining was the difference. Finnish goaltender Niklas Backstrom stopped 20-of-22 shots in the win.

Robert Esche made 42 saves in the loss for America, while Phil Kessel and Tom Gilbert scored for the US, which sits in third place in Group F and plays Norway on Monday.

In addition to the controversial call, the game was filled with penalties, and the teams engaged in a post-game brawl after America's Dustin Brown checked Finland's Jussi Jokinen with a hit to the head.

In other tournament action Sunday, Marcus Nilson scored twice for Sweden, which earned a 5-3 victory over the Czech Republic. As a result, the teams are tied for second in Group E with Switzerland, one point behind Russia.

Patric Hornqvist, Mattias Weinhandl and Anton Stralman also scored for the Swedes, while goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 36-of-39 shots.

Patrik Elias finished with a goal and an assist for the Czechs, while Ales Kotalik and Tomas Fleischmann also scored. Tomas Kaberle added a pair of assists, while Milan Hnilicka allowed four goals.

Both Sweden and the Czech Republic are finished qualifying play, while the Swiss and Russians play on Monday.

Also, Herberts Vasiljevs tallied the go-ahead goal late in the first period, as Latvia cruised to a 4-1 win over Norway.

Lauris Darzins registered a goal and an assist for Latvia, which can clinch the fourth spot in the Group F standings and a place in the quarterfinals with a win over Germany on Monday.

Lars Erik Spets netted the lone goal for Norway, which must beat the United States Monday afternoon or have Latvia lose to Germany in regulation time in order to secure the final playoff position.

In Quebec City, Paul DiPietro posted a goal and two assists to help Switzerland obliterate Denmark, 7-2.

The Swiss, with nine points, are bound for the quarterfinals, while the Danes remain pointless in Group E of the qualifying round.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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