Three Stars of the Night: Olympic Edition, the Quarterfinals

First Star: Miikka Kiprusoff, Finland

On a night filled with tremendous performances, Kiprusoff stood above the rest with his 31-save shutout against the Czech Republic. “Kipper” saw steady action every period and was the backbone of a strong win for Finland, who will face Team USA in the semifinals.

Kiprusoff’s strong performance allowed the third period goal by Niklas Hagman to stand up as the game winner. Valtteri Filppula potted an insurance goal on the empty net.

Second Star: Ryan Getzlaf, Canada

Did anyone expect this to happen? Team Canada came out with a similar swagger to what they did against Germany and dominated the game from the drop of the puck. Getzlaf opened the scoring for Canada, then assisted on both of Corey Perry’s tallies in the second as the Canadians breezed past Russia to face a surprising Slovakian team in the semifinals.

Third Star: Marian Hossa, Slovakia

Even more surprising (if that is possible) than Team Canada’s domination against the Russians was Slovakia’s sneaky victory over the defending gold medalists, Sweden. Hossa assisted on three of four Slovakian goals, including what would end up being the game winner, and led a Slovakian team that mustered just 14 shots all game long with three shots on goal.

Slovakia’s victory over the Swedes marks their second upset of this tournament and will see them play Canada after reaching the semifinals for the first time in team history.

Originally Published on Hockey Primetime.