Zbynek Irgl scored 7:58 into overtime to give the defending champion Czech Republic a 4-3 victory over Russia Thursday and a semifinal spot in the World Championship.
The Czechs next will play Finland, which ended the surprising run of Belarus 3-0 in the last quarterfinal. Olympic champion Sweden plays Canada in Saturday's other semifinal.
"What a game!" the Czech Republic's Patrik Stefan said. "It's an amazing thing to be a part of. This was a great game both for fans and for hockey. We didn't play well against the United States, but it doesn't matter now. We're in the semifinals and they're going home. You can never look backward. You always look forward."
The Czechs lost their last second-round game 3-1 Tuesday to the US and finished fourth in their group.
Olli Jokinen and veteran Ville Peltonen each had one goal and one assist for Finland. Riku Hahl scored the other goal.
"We knew this was going to be a tough game," Jokinen said. "They've got a lot of young players, good players over there so I think they've got a bright future. This is why I came. I'm playing for a medal and I'm just excited to be in the top four. That was the reason why I came."
"I just try to do my best. We've got a lot of young players over here. We've got the guys who were at the Olympics and we've got a couple of other guys here as well, bringing their leadership. For me it's an honor to put my country's jersey on and play for my country. I came here to win and we're one step closer."
Russia, which has not won a world title since 1993, looked stronger early in the overtime session, when both teams played with four skaters.
But Czech goalie Milan Hnilicka, who played well despite a sore back that hobbled him on several occasions, stopped everything.
The game-winner came after David Vyborny won a faceoff in the Russian end and fed the unchecked Irgl with a perfect pass near the goal. Irgl faked Maxim Sokolov, then swept a backhander past the Russian goalie from a tough angle.
Russia's Alexei Mikhnov forced the overtime by knocking in a rebound past Hnilicka with 1:05 left in regulation.
Eleven seconds earlier, Russia had pulled Sokolov for an extra attacker. The gamble paid off. The Russians won the crucial faceoff in the Czech zone, Hnilicka gave up a rebound off Vitali Atyushov's shot and Mikhnov scored, the puck hitting the right post before bouncing in.
It was the second straight game in which Mikhnov notched a late equalizer. He scored against Sweden in their second-round finale.
Alexander Ovechkin gave Russia a 1-0 lead at just 2:30 -- his sixth goal in the tournament.
Kaberle tied it with a power-play goal early in the second period.
Jaroslav Hlinka notched another power-play goal to give the Czechs a 2-1 lead at 3:49 of the third. Sergei Mozyakin evened the score 1:11 later, scoring past Hnilicka.
With the Russians playing short-handed again, Stefan put the Czechs ahead one more time at 7:06, connecting with a low shot.
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