Finland 0 Russia 2: A lot colder, but much more cordial than the football match in 2009

print this

The Helsinki Olympic Stadium hosted its second open-air ice hockey match in less than a week on Thursday, when Finland played Russia in a Euro Hockey tour fixture, as part of a tournament officially held in Stockholm.
      After 34,000 had turned out in bitterly cold conditions on Saturday to see the SM-Liiga local derby between Helsinki IFK and Jokerit, there were worries that hockey fatigue might have set in, as ticket sales for the international were not exactly going at Madonna-speed.
     
As it happened, the official attendance to witness Finland's 2-0 defeat (their third to Russia this season) was 25,036, although there were plenty of empty spaces in the stands.
      The real figure was probably closer to 20,000, even though some free tickets were made available a couple of days before the match.
      The Finns were as short on goalscoring smarts on the ice as their footballing counterparts have been on the grass in the same arena of late.
      They made little use of the five powerplay opportunities offered by Russian penalties, and even taking out goalie Ari Ahonen two minutes from time did not bring any rewards.
      A goal from Stanislav Chistov at the end of the first period and another from Evgeny Kuznetsov in the third did the damage.
     
It was cold, a little below -10°C, but at least in one respect things were a lot more cordial than the last time a Russian squad turned up here, in a football World Cup qualifier three years ago.
      In 2009 there was pitched fighting on the streets of Helsinki even before the match, but this time the rather smaller contingent of travelling fans and the home supporters got on a lot better with one another.
      Maybe they felt a common sense of solidarity at their turning out in the cold to watch a match that was not hugely meaningful - both sides were testing out players for this year's main event, the World Championships in May - or even very exciting.
      The Finns next meet the Czech Republic in the Stockholm Globen on Saturday. The Czechs overcame Sweden 2-1 after overtime and penalties in Thursday's other game.
     


Previously in HS International Edition:
  In deep-freeze conditions, HIFK beat Jokerit in this year´s “Winter Classic” (6.2.2012)

See also:
  Fans clash in the streets before game (11.6.2009)

Links:
  Oddset Hockey Games, Euro Hockey Tour 2011-12 (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat