Finland suffered a severe refereeing error in the World Cup semi-final, but the right team advanced to the final, writes hockey journalist Sami Hoffrén.
Gothenburg
sensation was close. Surprisingly close.
In the semifinals, the Young Lions had a real giant bang against the overwhelming champion favorite of the World Cup, the United States, but the thriller turned into a 2-3 loss.
In advance, the United States was an exceptionally big early favorite, but the semifinal turned out to be anything but the expected walkover.
Nuoret Leijonat, in the position of a challenger, hit the counter with a hard-class performance against an A-class opponent.
Of course, the ice court ruling that preceded the USA's winning goal was a complete joke – a guaranteed mess of IIHF referees, but despite this, the right team will advance to Friday's World Cup final against Sweden.
Just that in the individual comparison, the USA had to wipe the floor in Finland. By almost every measure, the United States should have had a clear advantage on its side.
The US World Cup team has ten NHL first-round bookings.
This is a drastic difference compared to Finland. There are no reservations for the first round in the Young Lions World Championship team.
Sure Konsta Helenius will be shouted next summer at the beginning of the first round and possibly also at the end Emil Hemming, but otherwise, Finland's bunch is not packed with the top individuals of the age groups. It will also go in the first round Aron Kiviharjuwho had to miss the World Cup due to injury.
During the tournament, various North American experts have shared quite unadorned sentences about the level of the Finnish team. That is, when you use NHL elite level bookings as a comparison.
Criticism is understandable insofar as the Young Lions' group is exhausted by the top spots, but I don't buy the idea of a dull team.
In the attack of the Young Lions, there are several talents who play big roles in the SM league and have NHL potential. Like Helenius, Jani Nyman and Lenny Hämeenaho.
Still, alarm bells must ring too.
Only three players from Finland have been booked in the first round of the NHL in the last four years. Of course, staring at first-round bookings is not the whole truth, but it says something.
In the previous four-year period, the people of Härmälä were in an exceptionally loud cry. Between 2016 and 2019, 15 Finnish players were booked in the first round.
In the big picture, there is a lot of room for improvement in the player development of Suomi-kieko, but in a single tournament, the defects in player production can be hidden.
The jury was sometimes in a bad mood.
Finland luckily hockey is a team game.
Raising individuals and comparing NHL bookings is a nice thing from the point of view of entertainment and star cult talk, but from the point of view of tournament success and winning, it is secondary.
With precise playing style and high-quality tournament coaching, you can close the gap and gain a competitive advantage. As has been seen many times.
When championships are used as the yardstick, Nuoret Leijonat has had the second best success in the World Cup in the last ten years.
Since 2014, Finland has won three world championships, silver and bronze at the World Junior Championships. Only Canada has more gulden (five) in the closet from the same period.
In recent years, Finland has had to give more lead in individuals. Head coach in the 2021 (bronze) and 2022 (silver) games Antti Pennanen took maximum results out of fairly evenly matched teams.
Pennase did not have significantly better players than Lauri Mikkola in this year's games. Mikkola and his coaching team have also gotten a lot out of the team in important moments.
in Gothenburg Nuoret Leijonat has improved its grip tremendously after the beginning of the rout.
Over the course of a week and a half, the game has developed piece by piece in every area, the responsibility for results has been evenly distributed and the collective belief has grown.
Already in the final match of the initial group stage against Sweden, Nuoret Leijonat took a huge leap forward. Finland found a way to knock down the big guys in this tournament.
Nuoret Leijonat has progressed to the medal games above all with close and disciplined cooperation hockey, which has been stripped of extra gimmicks and spunk.
When Finland manages to play patiently and maturely and keeps the distances close both with and without the puck, the team is more than the sum of its parts.
When the quintet structure is in order, it is easier for individuals to stand out. This happened first against Sweden, then against Slovakia and now against the United States.
INTERMEDIATE in the first round, Finland put on such a game-like clinic that the branches were removed. The Young Lions served a shock treatment to the USA with their stingingly effective puck control.
The US players celebrated after securing a place in the finals against Sweden.
There was a big difference in raw skating power and movement speed in favor of the Yankees, but in a game without the puck, the USA looked like a floundering group of schoolboys c
ompared to Finland.
The Young Lions defended wisely with a five-down game, which froze the USA's famous counterattack and direct attack game.
As the match progressed, the United States was able to create stronger pressure and long attacks, but Finland mostly protected the first sector in an exemplary manner. Niklas Kokko was sure of his goal.
The five-a-side game of the Young Lions was more balanced in the first and third periods than at any other time in this tournament.
High-quality defending produced high-quality attacking – and vice versa. After the possessions, Finland moved the puck sharply from the platform to the shoulder and launched rapid attacks towards the USA's goal.
In its own defense area, the United States was constantly in trouble. At times, the puck table run by the Young Lions made the USA look very mediocre.
However, in a shocking 0–2 defeat, the United States was able to forcibly push the focus of the game into Finland's end. Finland's excessive passivity further hurt the opponent.
A lot spoken individual skill turned the tide decisively for the United States.
A mentally important 1-2 narrow goal with superiority was Jykevä's performance from the summer 2022 first round reservation From Jimmy Snuggerud.
In the USA's 2-2 tie, realism hit us in the face, as Finland's stoppage team tried to keep last summer's fourth-place finish at bay. Will Smith. It looks like that.
Finally, the limits met. As a result of a shocking referee error, the USA got the upper hand, and the rest is history. America's number one star Cutter Gauthier nailed the winning goal with a freezing shot.
Similar finishing skills and dullness would have been required from Finland as well with the dominance of the final moments of the match.
Finland's performance was composed and in some places dazzlingly good, but you can't beat a hell machine of the USA's level with just one great and one really good set.
The giant bang would have required a clinically intact 60 minutes – and more world-class solution expertise.
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