Finns stage comeback to beat Czech Republic and top group

Niko Kapanen celebrates birthday with two more goals

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The Finnish team at the IIHF World Championships in Switzerland had their first real test on Wednesday night, meeting the Czech Republic in the final game of the Preliminary Round.
      The Finns recovered from a shaky start in which they saw themselves go 3-1 down, and clawed their way back to win 4-3 through a breakaway goal from Niklas Hagman in the third period.
     
In an entertaining match that had been given a lot of advance billing after the bad-tempered meeting between the two sides at the Torino Olympics, Finland were the first on the scoresheet when center Niko Kapanen - celebrating his 31st birthday yesterday - scored his fourth goal of the tournament at 9:32.
      The lead was held for only 42 seconds, before the Czechs took advantage of a slip by Sami Kapanen to send Jan Marek through on the counter-attack. He fed Tomas Rolinek to shoot past Pekka Rinne for a shock short-handed goal.
     
At this point the Finns, who had looked quite comfortable in the opening exchanges, rather lost their way as the Czechs upped the pace.
      A second Czech goal came from Miroslav Blatak after good work by the 37-year-old former NHL legend Jaromir Jagr, now plying his trade with Avangard Omsk in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.
      Things only got worse after three minutes of the second period, when Ales Kotalik fired past Rinne from distance on the powerplay.
     
However, this was the low point for coach Jukka Jalonen's charges, and thereafter the Finnish offense raised their game and began to cause problems among the Czech defenders that materialised in a slew of minor penalties.
      Inside a minute, the Finns were back to 2-3 through Ville Koistinen, and just before the end of the second period the scores were levelled as Niko Kapanen got his second of the night.
      Both these goals were on the powerplay, and represented Finland’s eighth and ninth powerplay goals in the tournament so far. The harassed Czechs picked up seven individual penalties and a team penality in the second period, basically opening the door for the Finns to get back into the match.
     
The Finnish control continued into the third period, and Pekka Rinne had less and less to deal with in front of goal, while his opposite number Jakub Stepanek was frequently in action. Over the match as a whole, Stepanek faced 33 shots on goal to Rinne’s 21.
      Niklas Hagman got the winner on 52 minutes, capitalising on a pass from Antti Miettinen.
      Not even a late penalty for Janne Niinimaa and the withdrawal of the Czech goalie in the last minute was enough to deny a well-earned victory for the Lions.
     
Well-earned, and quite valuable, too. Not only do the Finns progress to the next stage of the tournament with a maximum six points, but in winning the group they have given themselves an appreciably more comfortable programme over the next few days.
      Had they lost on Wednesday, they would be facing the advance tournament favourites Canada (also with a perfect six points) tonight.
      This would have been not just physically but mentally a tough ask.
     
Instead they have an extra day off before a match against Slovakia on Friday.
      Then comes Belarus on Saturday and finally the Canadians on Monday.
      The Czechs, for their part, must now skate off against Canada tonight.
      The sixth team in Qualification Group E will be Norway (5-0 victims in Finland's opening match). The Norwegians pushed Denmark into the relegation zone with a 5-4 overtime victory on Wednesday.
     
The other late game on Wednesday pitted Sweden against the United States, with the Swedes needing a straight win to top the group.
      When the dust had settled at the end of a hugely entertaining encounter (at least for the non-partisan spectator), the Swedes might have been forgiven for thinking they had just played Finland, and not Team USA.
      They produced one of their infamous recoveries - Finns still cannot shake off the knee-trembling horrors of losing to Sweden in Helslnki in 2003 after leading 5-1 - to come back from 2-5 down to triumph 6-5 in overtime.
      Even so, it was not enough to secure top spot in the group, since the Swedes had earlier gone down to Latvia after a penalty shootout.
     
Qualification Group F is headed by Russia (six points), along with the USA (4), Sweden (3), hosts Switzerland (3), Latvia (2), and France (0 points). The French will just be happy to have preserved their status in the top echelon, after overcoming Germany 2-1.
      Then again, the Germans are the only one of the four relegation round teams (Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Denmark) who do not really have a care in the world what happens on the ice over the next few days.
      They are hosting the 2010 World Championships, and the IIHF have made sure their position is not threatened.
      If the Germans end up third or fourth in the group, then the team that finishes second will accompany the other unfortunate into Division 1. Two teams will inevitably be relegated.
     
Sweden’s failure to win their group also sets up a mouth-watering match this evening between the Swedes and the Russians, who made short work of their opponents in Group B and scored 16 goals in the process.
      Wednesday’s match against the Czechs propelled birthday boy Niko Kapanen close to the top of the scoring leaders table.
      He now has 5+3 for eight points, and is headed only by Canada’s Marty St. Louis with 3+6.
      Antti Miettinen has 3+3, and Hagman 1+4.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Drowsy Lions overcome Denmark after early wake-up call (28.4.2009)

Links:
  2009 IIHF World Championships official site
  2009 IIHF World Championship, Preliminary Round Group D (Wikipedia)

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