Canada was damaged by Finland’s overtime win over Sweden in the Olympics
The Canadian men’s hockey team’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals directly were hit hard when Finland gathered for a 4-3 overtime victory against Sweden at the Olympics in Beijing on Sunday.
Undefeated Finland wins Group C with the victory while Sweden picks one point for the extra time loss and now has seven points. The result sends both teams to the quarterfinals.
The three pool winners and the best second team go straight to the quarterfinals, while the other teams in the 12-team competition must play in the sudden-death qualifying round.
Canada (1-1) can now no longer catch Sweden and is determined to finish second in Group B if it beats China on Sunday at 8:10 ET and the USA beats Germany.
In that scenario, Canada would probably need to face China again in the qualifying round.
Harri Pesonen was the overtime winner for the Finns, who were down 3-0 after 40 minutes.
Former Edmonton Oilers striker Iiro Pakarinen, with two, and Teemu Hartikainen scored goals in regulation for Finland.
Lucas Wallmark, Lukas Bengtsson and Anton Lander, also formerly Oiler, scored goals for Sweden.
The Russians have also gone straight to the quarterfinals after winning Group B.