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A FINE FINNISH: JOENSUU’S PAIR PACES FINLAND PAST USA FOR
BRONZE
By John Kurucz |
Box Score
With a gutsy effort, Finland defeated the USA 4-2 to claim third place Thursday afternoon at GM Place. It
was Finland’s fourth bronze in the last five years at the IIHF World Junior Championships.
Jesse Joensuu led the way with two goals, while Lauri Tukonen had a goal and an assist. Jari Sailio had
the other Finnish tally, and Lauri Korpikoski added two helpers.
Bobby Ryan and Jack Johnson replied for the USA.
Tuukka Rask put in yet another strong performance in goal for Finland, stopping 37 of 39 shots. The USA’s
Cory Schneider was also busy, making 45 saves on 49 shots.
This was the second consecutive fourth-place finish for the Americans. Though favoured in advance by many
to win gold, they will now go home surprisingly empty-handed.
Finland had the game’s first dangerous chance 30 seconds in. A deft Lauri Korpikoski centering pass found
Jesse Joensuu in the slot, but his shot was turned aside by Schneider’s left pad.
As if on cue, Nathan Davis charged right back for the Americans on the same shift, but his wrist shot from
the left boards was handled by Rask.
Bobby Ryan followed suit with a flash of brilliance just after the nine-minute mark. The speedy winger
somehow took a pass that was well behind him and feathered the puck between his legs to his stick, but his
low shot was stopped by Rask.
The Finns countered with two excellent scoring chances in the following two minutes. The tandem of
Korpikoski and Joensuu teamed up again, but Korpikoski’s hard centering pass from the left corner was too
high and too hard for Joensuu to handle.
At 12:11 a defensive lapse in the Finnish zone led to the game’s first goal. After being left all alone on
the right side of the Finnish net, Bobby Ryan banged home his second chance to give the Americans the 1-0
lead.
At 16:57, a thunderous hit by Nate Gerbe knocked Risto Korhonen out of the contest, and the Finnish
blueliner appeared to be favouring his right knee as he was helped off the ice.
The Finns opened up the second period with an abbreviated minute-long power play, as a result of Jack
Johnson’s late first period roughing penalty.
Seppanen’s screened offering from the point was Team Finland’s best chance with the man-advantage, but his
shot sailed directly into the chest of a surprised Schneider.
Then at 3:30, TJ Oshie broke over the Finnish blueline with only one defender back. His lovely
inside-outside move fooled Seppanen, but once in the clear, Oshie fired his shot over the net.
From there, however, the Finns began to take control. At 13:32, miscommunication by the American defence
led to Finland’s first goal. With Oshie off for hooking, the Americans failed to clear the puck out of their
zone, and this time Sailio made them pay. The Finnish winger picked up the puck all alone to Schneider’s
left, and banged home his second chance to tie the game 1-1.
That goal seemed to spur on the Finns, and at 14:51 they were back looking for more.
In what started as a harmless looking play, Korpikoski fired a backhand from the right side boards, but
Schneider’s rebound deflected off of a streaking Joensuu right back into the net. The goal appeared to go in
off Joensuu’s right hip, and so the play was reviewed. But after less than two minutes of deliberation,
referee Marcus Vinnerborg pointed to centre ice, and the score was 2-1 Finland.
Starting the third period, the Americans came out hard. The line of Phil Kessel, Chris Bourque, and Kevin
Porter hemmed the Finns in their own zone for the opening 30 seconds. Kessel’s failed wraparound attempt to
Rask’s glove side was the best chance of the shift.
Finland’s best chance with the man advantage came from Lauri Tukonen, as the winger just failed to connect
with a Sailio feed from the right corner.
Then at 7:20 Korpikoski missed a glorious opportunity to give his team a two-goal lead. The versatile
centre was the late man on a 2-on-1 rush and just missed potting home the rebound from a Tukonen shot.
With Teemu Laakso off for tripping at 11:03, a Jack Johnson point shot beat Rask cleanly to the lower left
portion of the net, tying the game 2-2.
But the Finns just wouldn’t quit.
Tukonen took advantage of a broken play in the high slot at 13:20, and fired home a quick wrister to give
the Finns a 3-2 lead.
The Finns padded their lead at 15:24, deflating the Americans. Positioned at the top of the left face-off
circle, Joensuu took a nice feed from Korpikoski before rifling home a screened slap shot past Schneider’s
left pad.
The Americans had no answer.
Jack Johnson, however, decided to salute the Vancouver crowd with 17 seconds left, waving sarcastically to
the 15,107 in attendance.
With the win, Team Finland’s all-time record against the Americans improves to 15 wins, nine losses and
one tie. Though the attendance was modest (in all likelihood due to the game’s noon start-time), the
Vancouver faithful were rooting for the Finns.
It is Team Finland’s sixth third-place finish to date.
Despite being heavily outmatched offensively, the Finns showed the kind of grit and determination that has
become synonymous with Finnish hockey in recent years.
Prior to the late 1990s, the Finns were generally regarded as lagging behind the traditional hockey
superpowers: Canada, Russia, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the USA.
But in recent times the Finns have adapted their game nicely, and are now more prone to play a Canadian
style of hockey, with hitting, attention to defence, and a dump-and-chase game plan.
The country has also become a goaltending factory, pumping out the likes of Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari
Lehtonen, and Mika Noronen.
And the future looks bright in the Finnish nets.
Antero Niittymaki is making a name for himself this year with the Philadelphia Flyers, while Tuukka Rask
was among the best goalies at the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship.
On balance, you’d have to call this tournament a success for Finnish hockey.
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