Alpine skiing Biathlon Bobsled Cross country skiing Curling Figure skating Freestyle skiing Ice hockey Luge Nordic combined Short-track speedskating Skeleton Ski jumping Snowboarding Speedskating

	Format story for printing
	E-mail a copy of this story

Teenagers lead Sweden to bronze medal

By Eddie Pells
AP sports writer

      PROVO, Utah — Fifteen-year-old Kim Martin made 32 saves and Evelina Samuelsson scored twice Thursday to help Sweden win the Olympic bronze medal with a surprising 2-1 victory over Finland.
      The Swedes came into the Winter Games without a victory against any of the other seven Olympic teams over the fall. Coach Lars Karlsson said he wanted his team to play better competition instead of notching easy wins, and the practice paid off.
      Martin was the key.
      The goalie from Stockholm, who turns 16 next Thursday, played well beyond her years in the biggest game of her life.
      She made four point-blank saves to preserve Sweden's one-goal lead in the third period, the final on a slap shot from just a few feet outside the crease by Petra Vaarakallio.
      When the game ended, it looked more like a gold-medal celebration. The Swedes stormed off the bench and piled on their young goalie, having won their first medal in major competition.
      Martin improved to 2-1 in the Olympics. Her loss came Tuesday, 4-0 against the United States in the semifinals.
      Samuelsson provided the offense. The leading scorer for the Swedes in last year's world championships, the 17-year-old scored her first goal of the Olympics 5:08 into the game off a high rebound from Finnish goalie Tuula Puputti.
      Twelve minutes later, Samuelsson put Sweden ahead 2-0 by winning a scramble in front of the net and stuffing in a power play goal.
      The Swedes only managed nine shots on goal over the next two periods, but Martin preserved the lead.
      Finland was long viewed as the most-likely country to challenge the United States and Canada, who between them, win almost everything in women's hockey.
      The Finns were the defending Olympic bronze medalists and a six-time third-place finisher at world championship events over the last decade.
      Puputti made 31 saves for the Finns, and Hanne Sikio scored their only goal, a shot that bounced through Martin's legs with 8:25 left in the second period.