Watch 2010 Winter Olympics: USA vs FINLAND Ice Hockey Semi-Finals (Live Video Stream)

The USA vs Finland 2010 Olympic Hockey semi-final game is scheduled this Friday February 26, 2010 at around 3:00 PM EST at the Canada Hockey Place, UBC Thunderbird Arena.

Finland’s men’s ice hockey team entered into the semi-finals with a 2-0 victory against Czech Republic last Wednesday. Finland broke a scoreless struggle with six minutes left in the game and added another for the win.

Finland will face the United States (USA) this Friday.

Niklas Hagman deflected a shot by Janne Niskala that snuck behind Czech goalie Tomas Vokoun for a powerplay goal that held up as the game winner in a hard-hitting contest marked by some spectacular goaltending.

The Czechs mounted a furious attack for an equaliser around the two-minute mark and pulled Vokoun, who had saved 29 of 30 shots on goal at Thunderbird Arena.

But Finland took almost immediate advantage as they stole the puck and poked it out to Valtteri Filppula, who added an empty net goal with 1:35 left to ice the victory.

“It’s a huge win,” said Finnish netminder Miikka Kiprusoff, who stopped all 31 shots aimed his way. “We are not the biggest favorites but when you play as a team anything is possible.”

The United States (USA) advanced to the semi-finals with a 2-0 victory against Switzerland earlier on Wednesday. USA needed a pair of third period goals from Zach Parise for the win.

You can watch USA vs Finland Hockey Live 3:00 p.m. EST on MSNBC, NBCOlympics.com or at Vancouver2010.com site.

UPDATE: USA defeated Finland 6-1 to advance to the Men’s Hockey Finals for Gold.

Game Recap

The shot by Ryan Malone of the United States into a wide-open net left Finland goalie Miikka Kiprusoff staring at the ceiling and shaking his head.

What happened next in this semifinal jolted Canada Hockey Place: The Americans scored four times on Kiprusoff in a six-goal first period, surging into the Olympic gold-medal game with a 6-1 rout of Finland on Friday.

The US will meet the Canada-Slovakia winner on Sunday, 50 years to the day after capturing gold in 1960 at Squaw Valley, Calif.

It is the second time in three Olympics the American men will play for gold. They haven’t claimed the top spot on the podium since the 1980 Miracle on Ice at Lake Placid, N.Y.

Captain Jamie Langenbrunner slammed his stick against the boards as his teammates hugged on the bench.

Canada edged the U.S. for gold during the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and a rematch could be in store. The Americans (5-0) topped the host nation 5-3 to conclude preliminary play Sunday.

So much for the Americans having to ride the stellar play of Ryan Miller to win. Miller was relieved by Tim Thomas with 11:31 left in the game after stopping all 18 shots he faced. Miller had played every minute of the tournament until then.

Thomas allowed Antti Miettinen’s deflected goal with 5:14 left in the game to spoil the U.S. bid for consecutive shutouts after a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Switzerland on Wednesday.

The U.S. didn’t wait long for offense. The six goals in the first tied the U.S. Olympic record for goals in a period, a feat accomplished five other times but not since a 1964 win over Germany.

Finland, the silver medalists four years ago in the Turin Games, will have to settle for a shot at the bronze. This proud group of aging stars, including Teemu Selanne and captain Saku Koivu, earned bronze in 1998 when the NHL first started sending players to the Olympics.

The Americans were eliminated by Finland in the 2006 Olympic quarterfinals, but the Finns were the final opponent for the 1980 U.S. team that shocked hockey. (Source)