Canada 3 Finland 2: Defeat with honour at hockey World Cup

Finns hit by early goals and forced to play catch-up

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Finland’s remarkable ride in the World Cup of Hockey came to an end on Tuesday night in Toronto, as the Lions went down 3-2 (1-1,1-1,1-0) to Canada. At no stage of the proceedings were the Finns outclassed, and Team Canada were made to work all the way for their victory.
      Even by appearing in the final of this competition, the team had bucked the odds and upset the carefully-choreographed plans of a competition geared to producing an all-North American final.
      As it was, on the night the Canadians were deserved winners of a match that was a credit to the sport: fast-paced, hard as nails, and yet without any of the rancour or theatrical brawls so often seen on the ice. There were only two minor penalties handed out throughout the entire 60 minutes.
     
The Finns had a nightmare start to the first period, and were caught cold by a piece of magic from Mario Lemieux, who released Joe Sakic to score with only 52 seconds on the clock. The Canadians were all over Finland like a rash for the next five minutes, and most viewers here must have been anticipating that a bloodbath was in prospect.
      However, after only six minutes the Finns were back on level terms, courtesy of a deflection from Riku Hahl after a shot from Toni Lydman from the high slot. The Canadian goalie Martin Brodeur was effectively screened by Finnish players. It was Hahl’s first-ever goal in a Finnish shirt, and it came just when it was required.
     
After the equaliser had settled any jangling nerves, the Finns took the game to the Canadians and looked comfortable for the remainder of the period.
      This was also reflected in the shots directed towards Brodeur and his Finnish counterpart Miikka Kiprusoff: Kiprusoff had to face nine, while Brodeur had seven to deal with.
      Teemu Selänne  picked up a 2-minute penalty for interference on 16.38, but the Finns coped admirably with the feared Canadian powerplay and did not allow them a single shot on goal.
     
The second period began with a spell of sustained Finnish pressure, but just as hopes were rising of another upset victory to go with the 2-1 semi-final win over Team USA, the Lions went down to another early sucker-punch, this time in the form of a speculative shot from Scott Niedermayer in the left circle that sneaked through Kiprusoff’s pads.
      Again the Finns regrouped, and though on this occasion they had to wait rather longer for the equaliser, when it came it was an outstanding goal.
      With only a minute left of the period, Tuomo Ruutu put on a one-man show that - had Finland gone on to win this match - would be playing incessantly in slow motion replays and would be regarded as the goal of the tournament.
      He picked up the puck in centre-ice, took out one Canadian defender on the boards, nutmegged two more in a manner reminiscent of Diego Maradona against England in 1986, and slammed the puck past a helpless Brodeur.
      Amazingly, this was also Ruutu’s first goal for Finland. There is something in the fact that both Finland’s scorers were from the "unsung hero" department: the Canadians did a fine job of blunting the first- and second-line Finnish attack.
     
With the score tied at 2-2 and twenty minutes to play, anything could happen. Unfortunately for Finnish fans, it happened rather quickly.
      The excellent "DDT" combination of Shane Doan, Kris Draper, and Joe Thornton conspired to leave Doan with the simplest of tasks in front of goal. He did not miss the opportunity. Only 34 seconds had elapsed.
      Though the Finns had come back twice, a third recovery was beyond them, with Brodeur - whose game improved as the match progressed - standing in the way of the few clear chances that the tight Canadian defence offered
     
Despite not quite scaling the mountain, the Finnish team can come back with head held high, and coach Raimo Summanen expressed his pleasure at seeing how the Canadians, playing on their home turf, were given a really tough workout.
      Gone are the days, he said, when a Finnish team would face off against the inventors of the sport with hat in hand, meekly accepting inevitable defeat. "Finnish ice hockey has taken a considerable step forward", Summanen remarked after the game.
      Few would dispute this.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland 2 USA 1: Lions into Hockey World Cup final (13.9.2004)

Links:
  World Cup of Hockey 2004

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