US women beat Finland 4-1, to face Canada in Olympic final

BEIJING (AP) — Hilary Knight had a goal and assist, Alex Cavallini stopped 25 shots and the defending Olympic champion United States defeated Finland 4-1 in the women’s hockey semifinals at the Beijing Games.

That sets up the sixth gold-medal showdown between the Americans and Canada.

The Canadians advanced earlier in the day after Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice in a 10-3 win over Switzerland.

Canada erupted for five first-period goals in an Olympic-record span of 3:24 to reach the championship game for the seventh time in seven Olympic tournaments.

Finland will play Switzerland in the bronze-medal game on Wednesday.