Finland blow Sweden in Olympics Ice Hockey

Finland beat Sweden by four goals to one in a penalty-filled battle in men´s ice hockey preliminary round group B match at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday.

Nikolas Matinpalo, Anton Lundell, Joel Armia and Mikko Rantanen scored one goal each for the Lions while Rasmus Dahlin scored the lone goal for Sweden.

News agency Xinhua adds: Finland and Sweden now sit tied in Group B behind Slovakia, who remained perfect with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Italy.

In Group A, the Czech Republic survived a fierce French rally to win 6-3, and Canada's NHL-laden roster rolled past Switzerland 5-1. Sidney Crosby, now 23-2 in international best-on-best play, scored once, helping solidify Canada's top seeding.

Meanwhile, the women's ice hockey quarterfinals of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics started on Friday, with Sweden stunning the Czech Republic 2-0 and the United States overwhelming host Italy 6-0.

Sweden reached the semifinals for the first time since 2014. The win marked a major milestone for the country's young rebuilding project, which went undefeated in Group B.

The U.S. women continued their ruthless form, outshooting Italy 51-6 and scoring five unanswered goals in the second period. Kendall Coyne netted twice.