The defending champion Kokudo Bunnies edged the Nippon Paper Cranes 6-5 on Saturday in Kushiro, Hokkaido, thanks to Toshiyuki Sakai's goal in overtime, to advance to the finals of the Japan Ice Hockey League.
In the other best-of-three semifinal series, Seibu tied the game in the final minutes before beating Oji 5-4 in overtime to book its place in the finals against Kokudo.
The best-of-five finals begin March 20 at Tokyo's Higashi-Fushimi Ice Arena.