Russia (bbabo.net), - In a dramatic fight, Finnish hockey players defeated Sweden (4:3) in overtime and reached the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament from the first line in the group.

Before today's match, both teams secured their way to the quarterfinals ahead of schedule, but they had to decide who would still take first place in the group. Having the same six points as the Swedes, the Finns were ahead of their competitors due to additional parameters (nine goals against six).

Almost all experts agreed that the match between these teams will be effective. However, in the starting 20-minutes, the teams managed without goals. But in the second - between the 24th and 32nd minutes - the Swedes scored as many as three goals. Lukas Wallmark, Lukas Bengtsson and Anton Lander distinguished themselves.

The third period turned out to be the most shocking: losing 0:3, the Finns not only did not give up, but managed to transfer the game into overtime! In the 45th minute, Teemu Hartikainen reduced the backlog from the opponent to two goals, and in the last minutes Iiro Pakarinen scored a double and made the score 3:3. And already in overtime, Harri Pesonen scored the decisive goal - 4:3.

As a result, the Finns finished first in the group with eight points and advanced to the quarter-finals, as did the Swedes: the Scandinavians were the best second team in the group stage with seven points. Recall that the three strongest teams of the group round, as well as the best team from among the runners-up, go directly to the playoffs.

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