Tomi Kallio, Olli Jokinen, Riku Hahl, Antti Miettinen and Jussi Jokinen scored for the Finns, who earned their first medal since winning a silver in 2001.
"It's always a disappointment, but it's a way better way to finish the season with a win than a loss," Nieminen said. ``You can ask the Canadian guys, and they probably don't feel that good right now.
Canada, which lost last year's final to the Czech Republic after winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004, failed to medal for the first time in four years.
Canada lost 5-4 to the Swedes in the semifinals, while the Czechs beat Finland 3-1.
Nummelin's three assists gave him a total of 14 points, tops among defensemen in the tournament and tied for second overall with Canada's Patrice Bergeron.
For Nummelin, it was the sixth world championship medal dating back to 1995 when Finland won its only final against Sweden in Stockholm.
Crosby, who was held without points, was the leading scorer with 16 points (8 goals and 8 assists).
"We played hard," said Crosby, one of the NHL's top rookies this season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. ``Especially right off the start, we had the right energy. We just tried to stay patient and keep going but it seemed like as it went on we became more drained and it was hard to keep that level of intensity and we got a couple of bad breaks. It was hard just to keep that same level of emotion.''
Finland goalie Fredrik Norrena had 37 saves for his third shutout. Alex Auld, getting the start for Canada after relieving Marc Denis in the semifinals, made 28 saves.
It was a rough third-place game with both teams visibly grouchy after losing their semifinals.
The teams combined for 66 penalty minutes in the early game at Riga Arena (32 to Finland, 34 to Canada). Tuomo Ruutu, the most penalized player, finished with 49 minutes in total penalty minutes.
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