Finland blanks Russia for fifth in women's hockey

Sochi, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Noora Raty finished a strong Olympics with 19 saves to lift Finland to a 4-0 victory over Russia in the fifth-place game of the women's hockey tournament.

Linda Valimaki and Riikka Valila scored goals less than a minute apart in the first period and Michelle Karvinen added a pair of goals in the third period for the Finns, who lost to Sweden in the quarterfinals.

Raty yielded just three goals apiece in losses to the United States and Canada to start the tournament, making 40 saves against the Americans and 39 more against the Canadians. She played all six games in net for Finland and stopped 157 of the 170 shots fired her way for a stellar .929 save percentage.

The Russians didn't pose much of an offensive threat on Tuesday and the Finns gained the upper hand when Valimaki scored with 3:23 remaining in the first period and Valila followed just 51 seconds later.

Karvinen made it 4-0 early in the third with goals just 61 seconds apart, as Finland finished 3-3 in the tournament.

Germany took seventh place earlier on Tuesday with a 3-2 win over Japan. Viona Harper made 27 saves for the Germans, who picked up goals from Susann Gotz, Julia Zorn and Sara Seiler.

Hanae Kubo and Haruna Yoneyama scored for Japan. The Japanese team went 0-5 in its first Olympic appearance since the home 1998 Nagano Games.

Germany's only two victories both came against Japan.

The Germans took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period on Gotz's tip-in on a loose puck in the crease. The goal came on a power play, but Japan tied the score less than five minutes later on Kubo's rebound.

Zorn gave Germany the lead for good on another power play goal early in the second period, scoring on a slap shot from the point.

Seiler's rebound made it 3-1 with 4:11 remaining in the second and Yoneyama scored 2:56 into the third to make it a one-goal game.