No. 1 Star: Miikka Kiprusoff(notes), Finland

In a fantastic goaltending showdown, Kiprusoff outdueled Tomas Vokoun(notes) and stopped 31 shots in a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic. Niklas Hagman's(notes) deflection on the power play with 6:26 to play was enough to set up a date with the U.S. in the semifinals. The Finns and Americans met in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Olympics in Torino with the Lions winning 4-3 en route to a silver-medal finish. 

No. 2 Star: Ryan Miller(notes), USA

Once again, Miller was right where Team USA needed him. Struggling with its offense all game, the U.S. relied on Miller's 19 saves against a feisty Swiss team in a 2-0 shutout. After having a goal denied at the end of the second period, the U.S. finally got on the board when Zach Parise(notes) beat Jonas Hiller(notes) two minutes into the third period. The New Jersey Devils forward would add his second of the game with an empty-netter to seal the game and secure a berth in the semifinals against Finland on Friday night. 

No. 3 Star: Pavol Demitra(notes), Slovakia

The wildest game of the day saw a back-and-forth effort between Slovakia and Sweden that ended up with the defending gold medals sent packing after a 4-3 loss. Marian Gaborik(notes) and Andrej Sekera(notes) scored goals 37 seconds apart to give Slovakia an early 2-0 lead, but the Swedes fought back with two of their own in 37 seconds from Patric Hornqvist(notes) and Henrik Zetterberg(notes). Demitra broke the deadlock with a power play tally with under a minute to go in the second period and added two assists, including one on the eventual game winner by Tomas Kopecky(notes). Slovakia now advances to face Canada in Friday's second semifinal.

Honorable Mention: If there were a fourth star, it would no doubt be Hiller. He's the reason many American fans were scared to face the Swiss on Thursday, and if he had received some offensive support, an upset might have gone down Thursday afternoon. Hiller stopped 42 shots in an excellent outing. ... Dan Boyle(notes) and Ryan Getzlaf(notes) each had a goal and two assists, while Corey Perry(notes) added two tallies of his own in Canada's rout of Russia. ...  Marian Hossa(notes) assisted on three of Slovakia's four goals and Client Jaroslav Halak's(notes) 26 saves helped upset Sweden 4-3.

Did You Know? Slovakia will finish no worse than fourth, its best finish in any senior competition (World Championships, Olympics, World Cup) since the 2004 World Championships. It's also will be the team's best Olympic finish.

Dishonorable Mention: The Canada-Russia game turned out to be a giant dud, and the Alex Ovechkin(notes)-Sidney Crosby international battle didn't come to anything, with both superstars held off the scoresheet ... Evgeni Nabokov(notes) was hammered by the Canadians, allowing six goals through the first 24 minutes of the game before being pulled in favor of Ilya Bryzgalov(notes). ... Entering the game with Slovakia, Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist(notes) hadn't surrended a goal in two games, and he stopped 41 shots in the process. The Slovaks solved Lundqvist scoring four times on 14 shots in a victory. ... Dan Boyle will probably get away with his slew foot to Alexander Semin(notes) at the end of the Canada-Russia game.