Finnish women’s ice hockey team celebrates Olympic bronze

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Thursday’s second Finnish medal at the Vancouver Olympics was earned by the women’s ice hockey team.
     
In the bronze medal game, which went into overtime, Finland beat Sweden 3-2 in front of a crowd of 19,000.
      The winning goal that ended the game at 62:33 was scored by Finland’s Karoliina Rintamäki.
      Finland dominated the game, but during regular time Sweden hung on, thanks to two power play goals.
      Heidi Pelttari took Finland to a 1-0 lead just under four and a half minutes into the second period. Sweden’s equalising goal by Maria Rooth came at 12:24 into the period.
     
The evening’s flashiest goal was produced by Michelle Karvinen, whose imposing solo saw Finland regain a one-goal advantage towards the end of the second period.
      In the third period, however, Sweden again clawed their way back on terms, this time with a power play goal by Danijela Rundqvist.
     
The bronze medal is Finland’s second-ever in Olympic women's ice hockey history. The first one came in 1998.
      The sudden-death winning goal marked the start of a hectic celebration in the Finnish camp. The celebration was joined by President Tarja Halonen, who had opted to come and see the women’s ice hockey game instead of the women’s cross-country skiing 4x5 km relay, which took place at the same time.
      Halonen was seen sitting in a luxury suite waving the Finnish flag and wearing the Finnish team’s official jersey, complete with her name stitched on the back.
      The jersey was a gift from the team to whom the President paid a morale-boosting visit after their semifinal defeat against Canada.
      “We knew that we would win the bronze. We came to this game to clinch victory before a penalty shootout”, forward and assistant captain Saara Tuominen described.
      “It did not matter who scored the winning goal, as long as somebody did. We came here as a team, we won as a team. But of course it feels fantastic”, gushed Karoliina Rintamäki, who admitted she even had a little bit of luck with her winning shot, which was deflected into the goal off a Swedish player trying to stop Saara Tuominen as she drove the net.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland to bronze medal game in women´s Olympic ice hockey (23.2.2010)
  Trying victory over China puts Finland in semifinals in women’s Olympic ice hockey (17.2.2010)

Links:
  Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

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