It seemed to me that Mikko Koivu never left the ice for Finland in today's quarterfinal match against the U.S. in the world championships in Helsinki, but the final ice time tally allegedly was 18:09 for the Wild/Finland captain.

Regardless, he was everywhere, won 13 of 19 faceoffs, had three shots and scored the tying goal with 6:58 left after driving the net and having a centering feed deflect in off his skate. A fired-up Koivu was completely jacked up after the goal was upheld by video review. Hopefully one day soon we'll see that during springtime in Minnesota.

Honestly, the Americans had no answer for Koivu, Jussi Jokinen and Valtteri Filppula.

Former Islanders prospect Jesse Joensuu then scored the winning goal with eight seconds left (his second of the game) to send the Americans home reeling. Not sure why the heck Jeff Petry and Chris Butler were put out there in the final minute by Scott Gordon.

Canada lost earlier in the day to Slovakia.

Koivu and Mikael Granlund (11 minutes today, benched last game in the third) advance to play high-flying Russia, who added Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, in the semis Saturday. The Russians are a formidable opponent, but Finland, looking to win its second straight gold, has the home-ice advantage.

Wild prospects Johan Larsson (No. 10) and Jonas Brodin (No. 28) are currently playing former Wild superstar Tomas Mojzis and the Czech Republic in another quarterfinal right now on NBC Sports Network.

As for Granlund, remember, he can't sign with the Wild until Finland is eliminated. So we're looking at next week, and again, I've talked to both sides, and talks have been positive.

Remember, the Memorial Cup begins Friday, and Wild prospects Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips look to lead Saint John to a second consecutive Memorial Cup. They play London on Saturday, and all games are on the NHL Network.

Mike Yeo and many members of the Wild staff take part in Tough Mudder Saturday in Somerset, Wisconsin. If you want to donate to the Wild for Wounded Warriors cause, here is the link.