VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Karoliina Rantamaki scored when her pass was kicked into Sweden's net 2:33 into overtime, and Finland won bronze medals in Olympic women's hockey with a 3-2 victory Thursday.
Heidi Pelttari and Michelle Karvinen also scored for Finland, which hadn't won a medal since women's hockey's first joined the Olympics in 1998.
Noora Raty stopped 16 shots for the Finns, but Rantamaki ended a tight game with a fortunate bounce on a cross-ice pass from the corner. The puck apparently deflected off a Swedish player trying to stop Saara Tuominen as she drove the net.
"I knew if I got it in front, we would score," said Rantamaki, one of just two remaining players from Finland's bronze medalists in Nagano. "It's really unbelievable, a great feeling right now. I still can't believe it. It's been a long time. I waited 12 years. It was so long that I waited."
Sara Grahn made 21 saves in a surprise start ahead of Swedish goalie Kim Martin, a three-time Olympian and the star of Sweden's upset of the U.S. team four years ago. Martin gave up 19 goals in her last two games against the sport's North American powers, and Swedish coach Peter Elander went with his 21-year-old backup.
"Obviously it's sad not to play, but I can understand it, too," said Martin, who learned the decision Wednesday. "It's pretty tough, but this just hasn't been my Olympics. I think our goalie played great, but it just wasn't our tournament."
Danijela Rundqvist tied it early in the third period for Sweden, and Maria Rooth also scored. Sweden will head home without a medal after winning bronze in Salt Lake City and silver in Turin.
"We're a better team now, but all the other teams are also better," Rooth said. "It's always a great game against Finland, and they came up with the last break."
Sweden and Finland clearly were the best of the rest in Vancouver, as they've been in most international tournaments in the past 10 years. Sweden beat fifth-place Switzerland 3-0 in the Olympics' opening match, and Finland survived a tough preliminary-round game against China to reach the medal round.
Finland had scored only seven goals in the Olympics, with none in its last two games, before getting just enough to beat its closest rivals.
It was a strange Olympic sight to see Sweden in a big game without Martin, her hair pulled back in an unfamiliar ponytail, cheering for her teammates and holding open the bench door instead of stopping pucks. Martin appeared upbeat, visibly encouraging Grahn each time they were close together.
After 24 scoreless minutes, Finland finally connected on a quick shot by Pelttari, the standout defenseman.
Then it got chippy: Swedish hothead Katarina Timglas, who punched Canada's Meaghan Mikkelson in the face last week, popped Raty in the shoulder while fighting with Finland's Michelle Karvinen for a rebound. Raty knocked Timglas back with her glove, but the Swede recovered and punched Raty in the mask before they were separated.
Rooth evened it shortly afterward with an impressive deflection of Isabelle Jordansson's shot from the point, but Karvinen put the Finns back ahead with an impressive individual play, turning the corner on Jordansson and skating in on Grahn for her first goal of the tournament.
But Rundqvist tied it again during a power play with 14:51 to play, dropping to her knees to swat home a rebound of her own shot.
Finland President Tarja Halonen wore a Finnish jersey and waved the blue-and-white flag while watching from a luxury box. She even got on the public-address system to lead a cheer late in the third period.
"Not many presidents love sports like she does," Raty said.