In the men's hockey final at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, Finland beat the Russian Olympic Committee 2-1 thanks to Hannes Bjorninen's winning goal in the third set. They flipped from a 0-1 deficit in the first inning, giving the country of 5.5 million people a joy to remember for a lifetime.
"Incredible," said Sakari Manninen, who scored seven points at the Beijing Winter Olympics. "There are so many emotions that you can't describe them all, but the first feeling is magical. We trained hard and eventually won this gold medal. ”
The third set began 31 seconds later, with the unyielding Finnish veteran entering the Russian Olympic Committee's defensive zone. Vice-captain Marko Anttila, who was also the hero of the 2019 World Championship gold medal, received Atte Ohtamaa's pass from the left, went into the middle, and the shot was scored by Bjorninen.
"We discussed after the end of the second set that more shots were needed and more trouble was created for their goalkeeper and this guy (referring to Bjorninen) stepped up and it was a great goal for us," Anttila said.
Despite the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the China National Stadium will remain in the hearts of Finnish ice hockey fans forever. They waited for this gold medal for almost a century. Finland joined the International Ice Federation in 1928, the World Championships in Switzerland for the first time in 1939 and the Olympic Games in 1952.
"It's hard to find the right words, but we got what we came here to want," defender Sami Vatanen said. "We fought so hard to win the first Olympic gold medal in the history of Finnish ice hockey. So it's special that no one can take it out of our hands. ”
As widely predicted, it was a defensive scramble, with the Finn taking a 31-17 lead in the number of shots on goal.
Ville Pokka scored another goal for Finland and Ohtamaa assisted twice.
Mikhail Grigorenko scored for the Russian Olympic Committee.
"The game did not go as we expected," said Russian Olympic Committee captain Vadim Shipachyov. "In the third set, we conceded the ball on our first substitution and it was difficult to break through the Finns' defence after that. We tried to fight back and we took the ball to their defensive zone. We wait for them to make mistakes, but they are very disciplined. ”
The Finns eventually overcame the Curse of the Olympics. At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the Finns defeated the Soviet Union 2–1 but only won the silver medal. In 2006, Nicklas Lidstrom's goal in the third set and Henrik Lundqvist's save for Olli Jokinen in the final moments brought Sweden 3-2 and the Finns took home the silver medal. The Finn also won the bronze medal four times in 1994, 1998, 2010 and 2014.
This is the second consecutive time that the Russian Olympic Committee has appeared in the winter Olympic final, although this time they are coached by novice coach Alexei Zhamnov. In the 2018 gold medal race, the Russian Olympic Committee relied on Kirill Kaprizov's goal to beat Germany in a free-kick battle to win the title.
In 1992, the CIS won the Winter Olympics in Albertville. Previously, the Soviet Union won the gold medal at the Winter Olympics seven times. The Russian flag has yet to win the Winter Olympics.
Zhamnov praised the Finnish team: "I am not surprised by the game. They played the most aggressive game in this tournament. Their style has not changed. They catch their opponent's mistakes and make the most of them. We weren't radical enough, so that's how it turned out. ”
This is Jalonen's ultimate stop. The 58-year-old Riihimaki local led the Finnish team to win their second and third World Championship titles in team history in 2011 and 2019, and silver medals at the 2021 Riga World Championships. He also won the 2016 World Junior Championships in Helsinki. Jalonen was a bronze medalist at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and now he finally has a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
"Numbers speak," Finland captain Valtteri Filppula said. "They were impressive. He built an effective system. He is very experienced. He made us calm down and trusted the system. ”
It's hard to choose between Finnish goalkeeper Harri Sateri and Russian Olympic Committee goalkeeper Fedotov. Sateri has an excellent tournament, guarding the gates with Jussi Olkinuora, who was a substitute for his teammates last year in Riga. Despite losing the final, tall 25-year-old goalkeeper Fedotov left his name on his FIA debut, playing every game in Beijing.
"He's unbeatable, certainly our best player," Grigorenko said of Fedotov. "Maybe no one in our team deserves the gold medal better than he does. But it's a team sport and I don't think we're good enough in front of him. ”
Before the Winter Olympics began, the two teams were tied for what were considered the most likely to win the gold medal, and they did fight to the end. Neither team boasted about their best-known star. Filppula, who dominated the scramble in Beijing, is best known as the former NHL star, who won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008 and played in 1,056 NHL games.
It is also familiar with the battle of wits between opponents. Seventeen of the Finnish team played for the KHL, and Jalonen also coached Shipachyov at SKA St. Petersburg in 2013-2014 and Ilya Kovalchuk, now general manager of the Russian Olympic Committee.
"We reached the final, which is already an achievement," said Yegor Yakovlev, vice-captain of the Russian Olympic Committee. "It's really hard to win by scoring just one goal. This is a fact. ”
Finnish supporters began paying tribute to their first world title in 1995, when they won the world championship for the first time, beating Sweden 4-1 in the final. It's hard to imagine how they'll celebrate the Beijing Winter Olympics gold medals, both now and in the future. With or without the participation of NHL players, this is a supreme honor.
Of the seven encounters with the Soviet Union at the Winter Olympics since 1960, Finland has beaten its opponents only once in 1988. In the post-Soviet era, Finland won 6 and lost 3. The Finns have now won all four of their last four Winter Olympics and russia encounters. The most recent was a 3-1 win in the quarter-finals of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The bronze medal battle also made history, with Slovakia winning the bronze medal at the Winter Olympics for the first time, and they beat Sweden 4-1 in the bronze medal battle.
The Finns will be racing at the 2022 World Championships in Helsinki, where they are expected to be the second team to win the Winter Olympics and World Championships in the same year, and the first to do so on their doorstep. Sweden won the only double, which was completed in Turin and Riga in 2006.
The image comes from the official website of the International Ice Federation https://www.iihf.com/