Czechs to play in the final of the World Ice Hockey Championships

The Czech ice hockey team beat Finland 3:1in the semi-finals of the World Championships in Riga on Saturday. Finland's Riku Hahl opened the scoring eight minutes into the game but midway through the second period Tomas Pleskanec levelled the score with a short-handed marker. Jaroslav Hlinka then gave the Czech team an edge when he scored into an empty net with less than a minute on the clock. And in the third period, with less than four minutes to the end of the game, captain David Vyborny scored the winner, opening the way for the Czech national team to defend its 2005 title. The Czechs will play for the gold on Sunday evening.