trent

Why not share it here too...



Ok... I wanted to have a national tournament... but never had time. And not just "some" national tournament... but the King of Hockey tournaments... Olympic Hockey...!!

Now I'm too busy to play a full 82 games season so I decided to make a short one.

I'm not using CgyFlames' genuine olympic schedule as the ESPN scoreboard calendar doesn't work with it... dunno why. So I'm using the default 16 team / 2 groups system.

More games = more fun.

Of course I'll be playing with my country, Finland. Here's my lineup. Lasse Kukkonen and Jarkko Ruutu are in the reserves.



Here are the two groups.



AI settings: Standard
CPU Advantage: 0
PENALTIES: 4

First game is going to be against the Czech Rep. Report soon.

trent

GAME 1/GROUP STAGE: FINLAND - CZECH REPUBLIC

Frustrating loss. Vokoun blanks Finland.



Not much to tell from the 1st period. Lepisto and Jagr took hooking penalties. Finland had many great chances but no luck.



Vokoun was simply incredible. Niskala couldn't believe this didn't go in. One of Vokoun's highlight saves of the day.



Finland was pushing hard but suddenly Kubina scored. It was like a cold shower...



Saku Koivu was trying to psyche Vokoun... no avail.



Then Kubina scored again... it was starting to look bad for the Finns.



Kubina's 2-0 goal: Beautiful twisted wristie to the upper corner... no chance for Kipru.



This man stole it... MVP today without a doubt... plus Finland couldn't really get anything going.




Box Score and today's games:

FINLAND 0
CZECH REPUBLIC 2

1st period
11:36 FIN PEN SAMI LEPISTO Hooking, minor
11:59 CZE PEN JAROMIR JAGR Hooking, minor

2nd period
No scoring/penalties

3rd period
07:32 CZE GOAL (0:1) PAVEL KUBINA TOMAS KABERLE, TOMAS PLEKANEC
16:27 CZE GOAL (0:2) PAVEL KUBINA TOMAS PLEKANEC, JAROMIR JAGR
19:50 CZE PEN MAREK ZIDLICKY Interference, minor




No surprises here... besides that Italy got a shocking win against the United States... I wonder if the US team was partying again... like in 1998 Nagano. :D Either way, Italy is my next opponent.

Finns have 4 very solid lines and great d-men. Maybe I should play more pucks to Sami Salo to the blueline... in the PP... he has a great shot. If Finland can get things going normally, Italy shouldn't have any chance. The skill difference between the teams is huge...

More later. Thanks for reading.

trent

The experts were busy, trying to figure out what went wrong... Juhani Tamminen thinks Finland was anemic... he had plenty of solutions. So did mr. Sihvonen who was mumbling something about a "book". The general public always wonders why Tami isn't the National team coach... he knows everything. :D



Coach Jukka Jalonen was interviewed after the game... he wasn't too worried. At least Finland had plenty of scoring chances. He wouldn't change anything in the lineup against Italy. A few people thought he was drunk... but I think the poor guy hasn't slept at all in the last few days... and if Finland is going to lose their next game to Italy he'll probably look even worse (if possible).

trent

Easy win against Italy. 7-1.

Well this was very one-sided game as excepted. Italy is one of the lousiest teams in the mod, and it was basically just target practice for the Finnish NHL players.

Their goaltender Tragust got enough after 6 goals. Actually he wasn't playing that bad... he was doing whatever there was to do. Read: nothing... the Italy defense is poor and slow so the fast Finnish forwards were able to have fun at their expense.

Funny... I mentioned Salo in the previous post and then he scored my 1st goal... a huge slapper from the blueline.



"Old man" Jere Lehtinen scored the second goal.



2-0 after the 1st.



Finland isn't particularly big and physical team... but guys like Lydman can sometimes surprise you. This was a clear cross checking penalty but probably bit of a "powertrip" too.



Italy got a lucky bounce 2-1 PPG (during Lyde's penalty).



A minute after that Saku Koivu scored the 3-1 goal.



What happens when your slow & clumsy d-men screw up and the Finnish Flash gets on a breakaway?



That's right... a goal for sure. 4-1 and the game was basically over.



Kipper was getting cold...



The legendary Tupu-Hupu-Lupu line (Huey-Louie-Dewey) line was having fun. Ville Peltonen: 2+1 today, +4, 5 SOG. Koivu 1+1, Lehtinen 1+0. Not bad.



Box score and the game results.

FINLAND 7
ITALY 1


1st period
02:02 ITA PEN LUCA ANSOLDI Hooking, minor
02:33 FIN PPG (1:0) SAMI SALO TEEMU SELANNE, MIKKO KOIVU
10:26 FIN GOAL (2:0) JERE LEHTINEN VILLE PELTONEN, SAKU KOIVU
12:40 ITA PEN JONATHAN PITTIS Hooking, minor

2nd period
04:22 FIN PEN TONI LYDMAN Cross checking, minor
04:48 ITA PPG (2:1) JOHN PARCO Unassisted
05:57 FIN GOAL (3:1) SAKU KOIVU SAMI LEPISTO
13:47 FIN GOAL (4:1) TEEMU SELANNE TUOMO RUUTU
17:38 ITA PEN LUCA FELICETTI Hooking, minor
18:09 FIN PPG (5:1) MIKKO KOIVU TUOMO RUUTU, TEEMU SELANNE

3rd period
03:54 ITA PEN LUCA ANSOLDI Hooking, minor
09:11 FIN GOAL (6:1) VILLE PELTONEN Unassisted
14:49 FIN GOAL (7:1) VILLE PELTONEN Unassisted



USA is still on a slump... now they lost to the Czechs who lead the Pool B...!!

My next opponent is USA. It's an important game for both. Later...

trent

Teemu Selanne was interviewed after the game. He explained how they prepared against the Italy, and said that 80% effort was enough today. The group stage matches are important as Finland wanted to win the group or get the second place (to get easier opponent in the 2nd round).

trent

USA humiliates Finland, wins 8-1.

This was supposed to be a tough battle between two top goalies... Ryan Miller and Miikka Kiprusoff. Unfortunately (for Finland) that didn't happen. While Miller was spectacular, Kipper was really shaky and let in a few soft goals.

Only 32 seconds was played when Dustin Brown silenced the Finnish fans.



This was a shocking start and apparently it all started to go wrong for Kipper and Finland.





And then Drury made it 2-0.



Backes' 3-0 goal was soft... the coaching staff was considering pulling Kipper out but didn't do anything (yet).



Timonen put Selanne's rebound in... it temporarily lifted the hopes.



But it was all USA for the rest of the game. Zach Parise made it 4-1.



Backes scored again. 5-1.



This was enough for Kipper who was replcaed by Antero Niittymaki. His save pct% in the picture tells everything about the Finnish team today... they were diabolically bad...!!



Finns were frustrated and took a few penalties... USA put embarrassing numbers on the scoreboard.



8-1 loss. Nothing to explain... it came against a great team but it was still a pathetic performance.



Shots were 30 even so the biggest reason for the humilation was easily found between the pipes... both Kipper and Niittymaki were awful.

BoxScore and game results:

UNITED STATES 8
FINLAND 1


1st period
00:32 USA GOAL (1:0) DUSTIN BROWN RYAN WHITNEY, CHRIS DRURY
07:51 USA GOAL (2:0) CHRIS DRURY DUSTIN BROWN, ZACH PARISE
12:01 USA GOAL (3:0) DAVID BACKES ERIK JOHNSON, PHIL KESSEL
13:02 FIN GOAL (3:1) KIMMO TIMONEN TEEMU SELANNE
14:55 USA GOAL (4:1) ZACH PARISE BRIAN RAFALSKI, DUSTIN BROWN

2nd period
00:17 USA GOAL (5:1) DAVID BACKES BROOKS ORPIK, PHIL KESSEL
05:16 FIN PEN VILLE PELTONEN Roughing, minor
06:49 USA PPG (6:1) DUSTIN BROWN RYAN WHITNEY, CHRIS DRURY
07:36 FIN PEN MIKKO KOIVU Roughing, minor
07:51 USA PEN PAUL STASTNY Hooking, minor
11:46 USA PEN DUSTIN BROWN Obstruction tripping, minor

3rd period
11:07 USA GOAL (7:1) PAUL STASTNY PATRICK KANE
12:23 USA GOAL (8:1) PHIL KESSEL JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER, BRIAN RAFALSKI
19:10 FIN PEN JANNE NISKALA Roughing, minor




Standings after 3 games. The only positive thing (for Finland) is that they have already played against the 2 toughest teams. Rest of the schedule will be easier and making it to the top 4 is what matters most. But then again Finland has to improve their game tremendously if they're dreaming about ANY success at all. Especially goaltending.



Next opponent: Latvia. They've been playing really bad but they're a good team with a lot of class. Goaltending has to improve if Finland wants 2 points.

Finnish studio commentator Juhani Tamminen was furious.

"People here in the studio was talking about badly motivated team... or how the game preparation went all wrong. But if our coach Jalonen can't motivate our guys against one of the best hockey teams in the world, he should resign immediately. Today's loss was an embarrassment to Finnish hockey... and why didn't they pull Kipper... he was terrible... had no confidence after the 2-0 goal... we were in the Olympic Final 4 years ago and now we have to watch this garbage...it makes me sick...!!"



More to come... :D

trent

Pretty much a crucial game for Finland... 3 games, 2 losses... Latvia had lots of class in the roster. Many skilled players like Lavins, Bartulis, Sprukts, Krastins, Cipulis, etc.

The coaching staff had pointed out how dangerous the Latvian team can be... although their tournament has been less than stellar so far. Zero points and last place of the group B.

Captain Saku Koivu was interviewed before the game, and asked if the Finland team was in a crisis.

"No, there is no crisis. Our performance in the USA game was unforgivable but we have put that behind us. We still have great chances to qualify from our group... it's not too late. Today you will all witness completely reborn Team Finland on the ice."



The game...

It wasn't anything pretty and the top dogs like Selanne and Mikko Koivu were still a bit "frozen"... but Saku Koivu was right... Finland was like a new team. They played extremely well defensively and apparently Kiprusoff had overcome his terrible performance in the USA game.

Shutout for Kipper tonight in a 3-0 win. Finland's powerplay was deadly as well. 3 PP goals today.

Finland took the physical advantage over Latvia right from the beginning.



Sotniek took a stupid offensive zone penalty and Mikko Koivu scored.



Niskala took a penalty but Latvia couldn't do much during their PP.



Sami Salo's huge slapshot spoke again. 2-0. It looked good for Finland.



Masalkis is a solid goalie but it was really tough day for him... he played well though. Latvian offense couldn't produce anything tonight... can't blame the goalie when your team scores zero goals.



2-0 after the 1st.



Lydman's goal was a good showing... he got a rebound and had plenty of time to put it behind Masalkis. Where was the Latvian defense?



Latvian bench was showing signs of desperation.



Captain Koivu was satisfied when he looked at the scoreboard. Finland was going to win tonight.



Important 3-0 win, and man of the match wasn't difficult to name.



Box Score and Game Results:

As you can see all goals were scored in a powerplay... thus, it was an even +/- score for all players.



FINLAND 3
LATVIA 0

1st period
05:11 LAT PEN KRISTAPS SOTNIEKS Hooking, minor
05:51 FIN PPG (1:0) MIKKO KOIVU TUOMO RUUTU
13:41 FIN PEN JANNE NISKALA Elbowing, minor
18:45 LAT PEN RODRIGO LAVINS Interference, minor
19:34 FIN PPG (2:0) SAMI SALO TUOMO RUUTU, MIKKO KOIVU

2nd period
02:39 FIN PEN OLLI JOKINEN Obstruction hooking, minor
13:02 FIN PEN TONI LYDMAN Obstruction tripping, minor
18:48 FIN PEN JARKKO IMMONEN Obstruction tripping, minor
19:30 LAT PEN RODRIGO LAVINS Hooking, minor

3rd period
01:03 FIN PEN SAMI LEPISTO Obstruction hooking, minor
01:37 LAT PEN HERBERTS VASILJEVS Hooking, minor
03:04 FIN PPG (3:0) TONI LYDMAN VALTTERI FILPPULA, MIIKKA KIPRUSOFF
04:18 LAT PEN ARVIDS REKIS Roughing, minor
18:04 LAT PEN KARLIS SKRASTINS Hooking, minor




Kazakhstan has been the sensation of this tournament... now they won USA. It's incredible how a team like USA can lose to weak teams like Italy and KAZ. Everything is still possible for them though... 4 teams will qualify to the quarterfinals.

Tournament leaders after 4 games:



Standings.



Finland team report.



Studio commentator Tamminen was happy for the win, but he still criticized coach Jalonen.

"Our first powerplay line is working but the second is not. Why are we using Miettinen and Hagman there... they have produced NOTHING. I would swap these two brothers with Jokinen and perhaps Immonen.

Jokinen is in the fourth line... why... that's not a correct place for a player like him. He has to play PP and get more ice time."

When asked about Finland's next opponent, Switzerland, Tamminen said it was going to be a tough game. "Switzerland has a lot of class and a great goalie in Hiller. But we have more depth. If we can get our normal performance as we did today, we should win that game."

trent

Game 5. Finland needed a victory if they wanted to compete for the second position. Czech Rep. has pretty much secured the 1st place in the group.

Switzerland has plenty of skill, finesse and a world class goalie in Jonas Hiller. It wasn't going to be an easy ride.

The first period was scoreless, but there were plenty of penalties. Both goalies (Kipper and Hiller) looked very solid, although both teams seemed nervous.



Coach Jalonen had shaved all his hair... or lost it from stress after the terrible USA game... who knows. :D Captain Koivu was yelling and raising the spirits on the Finland bench.



Then, in 8:10 of the 2nd period, Mathias Seger took a penalty. And Finland was finally able to capitalize their PP and took the lead.

Hagman's wristie was deadly... to the upper left corner. 1-0 Finland.



Pitkanen and Lydman got the assists.



Seger wasn't happy. This was apparently a game of very narrow margins.



Finland was leading comfortably... until... yes... a horrible mistake by Niskala in the defensive zone... when there was only about 30 seconds to play of the 2nd period he lost the puck on the goal corner.



It was a complete gift to Ivo Ruthemann and Switzerland. They tied the game. I wonder what the coaching staff had to say to poor Niskala after the period. Terrible...!!

Game tied 1-1.



3rd period was scoreless again. Finland had some occasional chances but Hiller wasn't giving any freebies tonight.



It was going to the overtime.



Finland started the OT shorthanded... but immediately, from the very first attack of the OT Jarkko Immonen scored an amazing wrap around goal. That was a heroic feat...!!



Amazing showing by the 4th liner Immonen... and a great win to boot. Finland wins 2-1 in OT...!!






SWITZERLAND 1
FINLAND 2

1st period
01:10 SUI PEN LUCA SBISA Interference, minor
02:24 FIN PEN TUOMO RUUTU Tripping, minor
03:55 SUI PEN ROMANO LEMM Interference, minor
09:54 SUI PEN MARTIN PLUSS Hooking, minor
16:07 SUI PEN PHILIPPE FURRER Interference, minor
16:23 FIN PEN KIMMO TIMONEN Interference, minor
17:47 FIN PEN TONI LYDMAN Interference, minor

2nd period
08:10 SUI PEN MATHIAS SEGER Holding, minor
09:06 FIN PPG (0:1) NIKLAS HAGMAN JONI PITKANEN, TONI LYDMAN
13:30 FIN PEN JARKKO IMMONEN Obstruction tripping, minor
17:21 SUI PEN RAFFAELE SANNITZ Hooking, minor
17:40 FIN PEN JONI PITKANEN Roughing, minor
19:26 SUI PPG (1:1) IVO RUTHEMANN Unassisted

3rd period
19:30 FIN PEN TUOMO RUUTU Hooking, minor

Overtime1
00:12 FIN SHG (1:2) JARKKO IMMONEN TONI LYDMAN




The crisis team USA lost again.. this time to Slovakia. Their chances of advancing from the group stage are getting very slim. It'd require Finland to lose both of their remaining games (to KAZ and SLO). We all hope that won't happen... so USA is pretty much OUT... what a shock...!!

No surprises in the Pool A... Sweden always starts slowly but they seem to be warming up.

Winning the next 2 games (Slovakia and KAZ) gives Finland a chance to fight for the 2nd position... it'd be important as both Canada and Russia are scary squads.



Scoring leaders. Kubina is bit of a surprise there... everyone was excepting Kane, Ovechkin and Crosby to dominate this stat. No Finns in the top-18... but there are still games left and it's tight.



Kummola was happy for the victory and was already speculating about Finland's second round opponent. He agreed that getting the second place would be very important. He was also amazed of Kazakhstan's sensational games. However, today their clean sheet was history as they lost to Italy. Kummola also believed that Germany would advance from the Pool A as they have a solid team.



Studio commentator Tamminen:

"It was a tight game against a good team and we were luckier in the end. Now we are winning these games with ugly, cynical hockey and cautious defensive play (save Niskala's awful giveaway). But I'm not complaining, at least we're winning.

Jarkko Immonen showed what kind of warrior he is. Very little ice time on the 4th line but he used it effectively. That was a fantastic, fantastic goal which can be very important for us. And what did I say about Immonen... he's a hot player. Coach Jalonen made a HUGE mistake when he was hiding him in the 4th... that's what I've been saying all along: give these young guns more chances to prove themselves."



NEXT GAME: FINLAND-SLOVAKIA

trent

Game against highly skilled Slovakia... Slovakia had many NHL stars... and the hockey equivalent to Dr.Frankenstein, Zdeno Chara... maybe the scariest guy in hockey at the moment.



Coach had mixed it up a little... Niittymaki was the starting goalie and Lasse Kukkonen replaced Niskala (who made the terrible mistake in the game against Switzerland). Huey-Louie-Dewey line was the 2nd line and went to the 2nd PP. Hagman-Miettinen-Filppula hasn't been very effective in PP... thus, this change.



This was the man to beat... Jaroslav Halak. When you play against (almost) all national teams at the Olympic level, they have world class goalies.



Pretty much nothing happened in the 1st period... very careful playing by both. But then, at 10:15 of 2nd, Olli Jokinen finally did it. He had been one of the biggest underperformers of the team... this was his first shot on goal since the Czech game... yes, really... and it was a goal...!!



Then the new D-man, Lasse Kukkonen thanked coach for the roster spot and made it 2-0.



Great goal... and very important one to boot.



Selanne has been the heart and soul of this team... and here he's preparing the 3-0 goal in a typical fashion... flying on the wing...!!



Koivu made it 3-0 from Teemu's perfect pass. The game was pretty much over.



Great win and reaching the 2nd spot is still possible.



Slovakia wasn't happy for the loss. If they end up fourth, they'll (most likely) face either Canada or Russia.



Man of the match: Antero Niittymaki.



Box Score and Game Results (before the final round).


FINLAND 3
SLOVAKIA 0

1st period
16:42 SVK PEN JOZEF STUMPEL Hooking, minor

2nd period
02:12 FIN PEN JARKKO RUUTU Roughing, minor
07:11 FIN PEN JARKKO RUUTU Cross Checking, minor
10:15 FIN GOAL (1:0) OLLI JOKINEN JARKKO IMMONEN, SAMI SALO
11:05 FIN GOAL (2:0) LASSE KUKKONEN VALTTERI FILPPULA, ANTTI MIETTINEN
19:28 SVK PEN MICHAL HANDZUS Holding, minor

3rd period
11:43 SVK PEN LUBOMIR VISNOVSKY Obstruction hooking, minor
12:14 FIN PPG (3:0) MIKKO KOIVU TEEMU SELANNE, SAMI SALO
17:44 FIN PEN JARKKO IMMONEN Roughing, minor




Kazakhstan is still making miracles... now they beat the strong Czech team (which was already secured their 2nd round place though).



Finland has +4 goal difference. Kazakhstan +6. Finland needs at least two-goal win against them in the last game.



Tamminen was confident that Finland is going to win their last group game. Kazakhstan has been the biggest surprise of the tournament but according to Tami Finland should be able to get the win if they just stick into their game and have solid goaltending.

Tami was also surprised how well the Finland defense has been working after the catastrophical USA game. "Maybe it was a good wake up call for the whole team", he said. "I still want more from our key players. It's nice that (Olli) Jokinen scored... we need guys like him if we want to be successful against the top teams. I'm sure this goal was important for his confidence."

When asked who was the biggest favorite to win the whole tournament, Tami was diplomatic. "Canada and Russia both have equally strong teams. But we might surprise everyone... winning either of those teams requires a bit of luck. But it's possible".

trent

The deciding game in many ways. Everything was still open in both groups... Finland only knew that they needed a two-goal victory to rank ahead of Kazakhstan.

That was clear... it was either 2nd or 3rd place. That's what they were aiming at. However, if Slovakia won the Czechs and Finland won KAZ, all teams would end up at 10 points. Then it'd be interesting. Finland was pretty strong in the goal difference comparison.

Ville Peltonen was interviewed before the game, and asked what kind of tactics Finland was going to play today.

"All that talk about getting the second position and avoiding Canada and Russia... it's in the media... we don't really care who we're going to play in the quarterfinals. We have to win them all, because what we want from this tournament is the Olympic Gold. The loss in the final 4 years ago is still bothering us. It's the last chance for many of us. Today we're going to play our own game and we want 2 points. We'll leave speculations for others."



Either way, all this speculation really felt pointless as KAZ scored an early goal. One-timer by Sergey Alexandrov (during Timonen's penalty).



Finland didn't make it easy for themselves. Peltonen took another penalty...



...and Immonen took yet another.

Stupid, reckless playing was making the coach mad. Commentators in the YLE studio weren't too happy, either.



Even the KAZ goalie Poloshkov wondered about the Finland tactics.



Then Filppula tied the game: 1-1. But Finland needed that 2 goal victory. Nothing more, nothing less.



Captain Koivu scored an important goal.. from a perfect pass by Toni Lydman. 2-1 Finland.



And Hagman made it 3-1. It started to look better...



...until at 9:22 of the 2nd KAZ did it again. Solarev made it 3-2. With this scoreline, KAZ would rank ahead of Finland.



Then it was Kukkonen again. The guy was on the bench (the 7th defender) in the first 3 games but now he's on fire... the hottest player on the ice... 4-2 Finland.



Eremeev narrowed it 4-3 but Hagman scored again. 5-3 Finland.



It was like being in a rollercoaster... emotions went up and down in the YLE studio. Fadeev narrowed it to 5-4. It was starting to become apparent why KAZ has been so successful in this tournament... they play really ugly "balls-to-the walls hockey" with borderline dirty stick work... but it's effective... and they capitalize from their scoring chances with very high percentage.

At this point Kazakhstan made a mistake... they decided to play poker...

They wanted to tie the game, because they still had a chance to win the group. The Jumbotron had just flashed a scoreline from the Czech-Slovakia game (SLO was leading) and it lifted their hopes. They pulled their goalie.

It was a mistake. They got a small pressure into Finland defensive zone, but Mikko Koivu stole the puck and scored an empty net goal. 6-4 Finland.

Kukkonen was simply incredible today. He secured the win with another awesome shot. 7-4 goal was just cosmetics but that was the end result.





Finland was celebrating... but it was also confusing because no one really knew how the final standings were. All teams ended up at 10 points because Slovakia had just won the Czech Republic.



Box Score and Game Results:


KAZAKHSTAN 4
FINLAND 7

1st period
03:45 FIN PEN KIMMO TIMONEN Interference, minor
04:01 KAZ PPG (1:0) SERGEI ALEXANDROV ILYA SOLAREV, ANDREI SPIRIDONOV
05:17 FIN PEN VILLE PELTONEN Interference, minor
07:29 FIN PEN JARKKO IMMONEN Tripping, minor
08:39 KAZ PEN SERGEI ALEXANDROV Hooking, minor
09:12 FIN GOAL (1:1) VALTTERI FILPPULA LASSE KUKKONEN
13:27 FIN GOAL (1:2) SAKU KOIVU TONI LYDMAN, TUOMO RUUTU
14:37 FIN GOAL (1:3) NIKLAS HAGMAN LASSE KUKKONEN

2nd period
02:21 KAZ PEN ALEXANDER KORESHKOV Obstruction hooking, minor
04:16 FIN PEN MIKKO KOIVU Hooking, minor
04:48 KAZ PEN SERGEI ALEXANDROV Hooking, minor
09:13 FIN PEN TONI LYDMAN Tripping, minor
09:22 KAZ PPG (2:3) ILYA SOLAREV ANDREI SPIRIDONOV, SERGEI ALEXANDROV
17:54 FIN GOAL (2:4) LASSE KUKKONEN NIKLAS HAGMAN, VALTTERI FILPPULA

3rd period
04:10 KAZ GOAL (3:4) OLEG EREMEEV Unassisted
10:52 FIN PEN VALTTERI FILPPULA Tripping, minor
11:14 FIN SHG (3:5) NIKLAS HAGMAN SAKU KOIVU
17:17 KAZ GOAL (4:5) EVGENI FADEEV ALEXANDER KORESHKOV, ANDREI GAVRILIN
19:30 FIN ENG (4:6) MIKKO KOIVU KIMMO TIMONEN
19:53 FIN GOAL (4:7) LASSE KUKKONEN NIKLAS HAGMAN, SAMI LEPISTO

trent

Amazingly, Finland won the Group B and plays Austria

YLE commentator, ex-NHL coach Alpo Suhonen doesn't show emotion often but even he was seemingly happy for Finland's amazing luck.



Let's have a look at the final standings.



As stated earlier, all teams ended up at 10 points. Finland's GF/GA difference was the best so they won the group by the narrowest of margins. Czech Rep. media was already celebrating of their group victory ended up at 4th... amazing. Their loss to Slovakia meant that they have to play Canada...!!

Finland was extremely lucky to win the group... now they're first playing Austria and then the winner of the Sweden-Kazakhstan game.

Here is the tournament tree:



Teemu Selanne was interviewed and asked about their next opponent Austria.

"Of course we are happy that we won the group. Yeah... Austria is more favorable opponent. But we haven't won anything yet. People say that Austria won't have any chance... but it's like a penalty kick in soccer: You first have to put the ball into the net before you can celebrate the goal."

trent

Scoring leaders of the group stage.



Tournament leaders.

Kukkonen's shooting percentage is amazing. Same can't be said about Teemu.

trent

Coach Jalonen had decided to leave Kipper onto the bench and Antero Niittymaki continued on the goal. Kiprusoff was interviewed before the game and asked about the coach decision.

"No, it has nothing to do with the USA game. I've been told that I'm going to play in the possible semifinal. Now it's Antero's turn... he was spectacular against Slovakia and Switzerland."

When asked about their opponent Austria:

"Remember what happened to Sweden against Belarus in 2002. You can't go there thinking that it's going to be an easy game. They have world class players like Nodl, Setzinger, Vanek and Lakos. They're a good team and we have to be focused."



It was the worst possible start for Austria. Schellander took a penalty and Ville Peltonen scored immediately on the powerplay.



This is what Finland needed. Getting the first goal is always very important in games like this.



Jarkko Ruutu was showing his true colors for the first time in the tournament. Huge hits but also two penalties in a row, which is typical for him.



There was no more scoring in the 1st. 1-0 Finland.



There was more penalties coming... first J.Ruutu took yet another (Cross Checking) penalty and then Ville Peltonen went out for hooking. The YLE commentators were saying how this was going to be a LONG night...

But Tuomo Ruutu wasn't listening. He scored a shorty... from a perfect pass by Toni Lydman. 2-0 Finland.



Then Vanek and Lakos went out. Finland got a 2man PP...

Goalie Starkbaum had been busy... and he was going to be even more busy during the next 2 minutes.



And finally, after peppering Starkbaum from all possible angles, Finland scored. It was just a matter of time. 3-0 it was. That was the scoreline after two periods.



Finland was enjoying their comfortable lead... and then happened what usually happens in these situations. A little soft defending and Andreas Nodl got the puck. He had plenty of time to first shoot and then put the rebound over laying Niittymaki.



3-1 and Austria was back in the game. Nodl is one of their best players and the Finland defense wasn't marking him properly. Jalonen was yelling expletives on the bench.



Finland went to turtle defense for the next 10 minutes. At 15:00 Valtteri Filppula got a loose puck on the redline and skated through Austrian defenders. Then he calmly placed it to the upper left corner. Great individual performance.

Game over for Austria. 4-1.



Mikko Koivu recorded the GWG today. He has been very solid throughout the tournament. Selanne has been very active and has recorded plenty of shots, but only one goal so far.

But it doesn't really matter, as long as the team wins. That's the oldest cliché in the book, but so very true.



Austria never really threatened Finland today... but win is a win. The players celebrated their place in the semifinal.



Box Score and the 2nd Quarterfinal Result:


FINLAND 4
AUSTRIA 1

1st period
02:25 AUS PEN PAUL SCHELLANDER Hooking, minor
02:48 FIN PPG (1:0) VILLE PELTONEN JERE LEHTINEN, TONI LYDMAN
06:36 FIN PEN JARKKO RUUTU Hooking, minor
09:37 FIN PEN JARKKO RUUTU Roughing, minor
10:37 AUS PEN ANDRE LAKOS Hooking, minor
19:33 AUS PEN ROLAND KASPITZ Holding, minor

2nd period
04:58 AUS PEN ANDREAS NODL Hooking, minor
07:14 FIN PEN JARKKO RUUTU Cross Checking, minor
12:03 FIN PEN VILLE PELTONEN Hooking, minor
12:16 FIN SHG (2:0) TUOMO RUUTU TONI LYDMAN
13:41 AUS PEN THOMAS VANEK Tripping, minor
14:22 AUS PEN ANDRE LAKOS Hooking, minor
15:51 FIN PPG (3:0) MIKKO KOIVU TEEMU SELANNE

3rd period
01:44 FIN PEN VILLE PELTONEN Hooking, minor
04:21 AUS GOAL (3:1) ANDREAS NODL Unassisted
15:00 FIN GOAL (4:1) VALTTERI FILPPULA NIKLAS HAGMAN, ANTTI MIETTINEN
19:36 FIN PEN JARKKO IMMONEN Roughing, minor



Here's the box score of the Canada-Czech Rep. game.



As excepted, it was a tight battle but Canada eventually went to the semifinal. They are playing the winner of the game Russia-Slovakia.

Juhani Tamminen was interviewed after the game. Once again, he was very happy about the result.

"I'm happy... we're going to play Sweden. And hopefully it's going to be sweet revenge for the things that happened 4 years ago. Kazakhstan has been the sensation of this tournament but now they're playing against the big boys in a big game... they have no gas in the tank left."

So what does Tamminen think about the Slovakia-Russia game.

"Russia will take it, no question. They are hungry for the gold and want to meet Canada in the semifinal. Slovakia is a great team but this time they're against the best Russian team of the decade."

How about the Finland's performance today?

"It was solid... but our coach Jalonen doesn't know how the kill the momentum. We constantly take stupid penalties and make these games difficult for ourselves. And our best scorer is Mikko Koivu... he has 5 goals but I want to see more from guys like Selanne, Jokinen. On the scoreboard."

trent

Here are the results of the 3rd and 4th Semifinal:





SEMIFINALS:



Tami was right in his predictions. Pretty much the semifinals that people were excepting (now that the superstar USA team flopped completely).

We got a surprise guest for an interview here. Stig Wetzell, the legendary goaltender of Helsinki IFK and Finland national team. We asked him to tell his thoughts about the semifinals.

"Sweden... what can I say? I guess the history won't give us much chances here, but then again our recent negative history against them comes from the final... not semifinal. I think it's "fifty-fifty". It's all about goaltending. And we need a bit of luck and good, solid defensive performance. It's going to be tough, but I don't think this Swedish team is quite as good as the one 4 years ago. Of course our core team is 4 years older too... but I think we have a good chance."

"Canada against Russia. That's just as difficult to predict. Russia can crush Canada, or can be crushed. Those guys (Malkin, Ovechkin etc.) are artists and if they get frustrated they usually screw up their game and can't get anything going. Russia might have the skill advantage but Canada is probably mentally tougher team. I'll go for 3-2 Canada."

trent

Coach Jalonen was interviewed before the game and asked about Finland's chances against Sweden.

"Sweden might be the favorite today but we're going there as underdogs... that seems to suit us better. I don't think we have showed our full potential just yet. Our veteran players have to stand up today. We still have only one aim, and that's Olympic Gold."



Both teams were a bit shaky in the beginning... and Sweden immediately got a great chance to take the lead. Alredsson got a breakaway but Kipper saved.



Then Louie Eriksson got a bouncing puck. It was like a gift and he put a deadly wristie behind Kiprusoff. 0-1 Sweden. That was end result of the 1st period.



A minute in 2nd period, Henrik Sedin took a penalty and Finland's 2nd PP (Huey-Louie-Dewey line) all got their names onto the scoreboard. 1-1.



Sweden's big and ugly d-man Murray chased Koivu and other Finnish small players. Here's a huge hit on Koivu, who kept his cool and didn't even lose his grin.



It was going back and forth, but no real scoring chances for either team. Then, all of a sudden Alfredsson scored. Another lucky bounce for the Swedes. Maybe it was a bit soft goal as it went through Kipper's pads. 1-2 Sweden.



Sweden was leading 2-1 after the second.



Then, like many times in games like this... you get cheap goals. Lydman just randomly shot the puck on Gustafsson's goal and it went in. The crowd & Finnish bench went nuts but Lyde wasn't showing much emotion, even in a moment like this.

2-2.



Overtime. The Canadian crowd loved it... but I'm sure Swedes and Finns had to take a few drinks to get their heart rate back to normal.



Stats proved it: It was tight.



In the beginning of the overtime, past Swedish hero Peter "Foppa" Forsberg took an idiotic obstruction penalty in their offensive zone.

He whined about it like a baby but the ref wasn't giving him special treatment. To be honest, it was pretty soft penalty considering it was OT and these teams were playing for life and death.



Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, the Swedish coach wasn't too happy about this call, either. He barely stayed inside the players' bench.



Then the amazing happened... Selanne scored. The man who had been very active but couldn't put it into the net in the previous games found the target at the best possible moment. It was a typical Selanne goal... a hard wrist shot from the hash marks.



Finland won..!!



The crowd went crazy and so did the whole Finnish team. Somehow, amazingly, the team that started the tournament by losing to Czech Republic and USA after anemic, pathetic performances had made its way to yet another Olympic Final.



Swedish players went to the dressing room... they couldn't stomach watching the Finnish players' celebration on the ice... and I'm sure they weren't thinking about tomorrow's bronze "final" at that particular moment, either.



Box Score:


FINLAND 3
SWEDEN 2

1st period
03:43 SWE GOAL (0:1) LOUI ERIKSSON Unassisted

2nd period
00:59 SWE PEN HENRIK SEDIN Hooking, minor
01:33 FIN PPG (1:1) SAKU KOIVU JERE LEHTINEN, VILLE PELTONEN
09:44 FIN PEN NIKLAS HAGMAN Hooking, minor
10:04 SWE PPG (1:2) DANIEL ALFREDSSON PETER FORSBERG

3rd period
12:27 FIN GOAL (2:2) TONI LYDMAN Unassisted

Overtime1
00:39 SWE PEN PETER FORSBERG Obstruction hooking, minor
01:11 FIN GOAL (3:2) TEEMU SELANNE KIMMO TIMONEN



Some after the game shots.





This photo of Juhani Tamminen was captured from the press box.



He was interviewed after the game.

"That was great... no, amazing. I have always said that coach Jalonen is a genius. The team played perfect, tactical hockey today and our experienced players managed to win this game."

trent

The other final, Russia-Canada was just as tight. Russia won the game in overtime at 63rd minute.





OLYMPIC FINAL : RUSSIA - FINLAND

BRONZE MATCH: SWEDEN - CANADA

trent

Result of the bronze game.



Peter Forsberg was interviewed after the bronze match, by the Swedish press. He was happy about the bronze medal but was still bitter about what happened in the semifinal. Then he was asked which team was his favorite to win the final tomorrow.

"If there's any justice in the world, Russia will win. They have easily been the best team of the tournament and Finland is very lucky to even be here. They lost badly to Czech Rep. and USA, barely won Switzerland (in OT) and Slovakia after very average performances, and then were amazingly lucky to get Austria as their opponent in the quarterfinals. Finally they got a gift from referee in the semifinal OT. That skin-of-the-teeth approach continued for Finland through the tournament.

Let's be honest... they are a shadow of the side that went to the final 4 years ago, but their veteran players are tactically and mentally strong and know how to survive in international tournaments".



Finnish legendary defender, the huge number #3 Lalli Partinen (SaiPa, HIFK, National Team) was asked what he thought about Forsberg's comments.

"He's just a sore loser. We won them fair and square. Maybe we were a bit lucky here and there, but for once the Gods smiled to us. Russia is going to be tough to beat, but why not... maybe we're destined to win Gold here."

trent

The moment had come: The Olympic Final.



Russia was the slight favorite but Finland was going to fight for the last man tonight.


It didn't start well for the Finns. Only 3:41 of the 1st period played, and Pavel Datsyuk scored. 0-1 Russia.



Timonen took a roughing penalty and he scored again. 0-2 Russia.



Kipper couldn't do anything to those goals. Russia was clearly outplaying Finland tonight. 0-2 after the 1st.



Lydman and Tyutin took minor penalties and then the Huey-Louie-Dewey line scored and lifted the hopes for Finland. Koivu put a rebound in. 1-2 Russia.



That was the scoreline after the 2nd. It was still all open, although Russia was clearly dominating the game.



Then man of the match, Pavel Datsuyk completed his hat-trick and it started to look like the gold was going to the Russians. It was probably a bit soft goal as it went through Kipper's legs again.



Finland pushed hard but couldn't get anything past Bryzgalov.



The celebration was ready.



Koivu was devastated as this was probably his last chance to win the biggest and greatest prize in International hockey.



The teams shook hands.



Kipper congratulated Bryzgalov, who played a great game and won it for the Russians.



Morozov was the captain the final and received his gold medal.



Then it was the Russian hero's turn: Pavel Datsuyk and the gold medal.



Winners in the group shot.




OLYMPIC FINAL BOX SCORE


RUSSIA 3
FINLAND 1

1st period
03:41 RUS GOAL (1:0) PAVEL DATSYUK ALEXANDER SEMIN, DANIS ZARIPOV
17:15 FIN PEN KIMMO TIMONEN Roughing, minor
18:42 RUS PPG (2:0) PAVEL DATSYUK FEDOR TYUTIN, ANDREI MARKOV

2nd period
05:44 FIN PEN TONI LYDMAN Holding, minor
06:04 RUS PEN FEDOR TYUTIN Cross checking, minor
13:08 FIN GOAL (2:1) SAKU KOIVU VILLE PELTONEN, TONI LYDMAN

3rd period
02:55 RUS PEN ALEKSEY MOROZOV Hooking, minor
07:44 RUS GOAL (3:1) PAVEL DATSYUK ALEXANDER SEMIN




HIGHLIGHTS

YouTube Video

bhurst99

Too bad about the loss but you had a great tournament.

Great dynasty!

trent

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it..!!