Finland will meet Sweden in the quarterfinals of the Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships on Thursday at 9:20 p.m. follows the match moment by moment in the application and on Urheilu’s website.
The Finnish men’s national ice hockey team reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup after sticky stages. Leijonat won only three matches in the first series.
On Thursday, Finland will face Sweden in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
As the head coach of the Lions before Jukka Jalonen freshly washed worked Lauri Marjamäki says that Finland has played a very typical World Cup tournament.
Marjamäki tells Urheilu that Leijonat played very good preparatory matches for the World Cup and started the tournament well.
Then, according to Marjamäki, a bad result came against Austria that would come at some point in the Games. It then put pressure on Leijon.
– I don’t see anything more amazing in the tournament. If I think about my own years as a head coach, in Paris 2017 it was a bit difficult in the first group, Marjamäki recalls.
– The wrong game was lost (against France). Then we had to win three of the last four games. We were fourth in the second group and faced the United States, number one in the second group, in Cologne. We won 2–0 and went to the medal games.
The following year’s World Championships in Denmark were Marjamäki’s last. Then the tournament went completely differently. Leijonat broke the point records and goal records in the first group, but in the quarterfinals they lost to Switzerland and went home.
The ineffectiveness of the offensive end was visible in Granlund’s blunder
According to Marjamäki, the Lions’ defense has been at a very good level in this spring’s World Cup scrimmages. The challenges have been at the other end of the rink in attacking play and creating goalscoring opportunities.
There have been signs of frustration in the team. Captain from Mikael Granlund burned the coils in an exceptional way in the last match of the initial group stage against Switzerland.
Granlund took an out in the final moments of the game when he hit a cross stick Andrea Glauser to the head area.
Moments earlier, Glauser had tackled Granlund’s reversal in the middle area. It was very clear that Granlund set out to avenge the situation.
Hockey experts have condemned Granlund’s act as undisciplined and unnecessary. He was suspended for one match.
Lauri Marjamäki sees Granlund’s action as a result of ineffectiveness on the offensive end.
– Of course, it shouldn’t have been done like that, but Granlund’s reaction shows that the offensive game hasn’t really started, says Marjamäki.
Marjamäki points out that Granlund has always been a great team player and always ready to wear the Finnish shirt.
– He really cares about Leijon. Sometimes it goes over the player. However, Mikke demands a lot from himself. These always come from time to time. I believe that there was a little frustration in the background in that situation, Marjamäki estimates.
Understanding for Jukka Jalonen’s openness
Frustration has also been seen in head coach Jukka Jalonen’s public appearances. Jalonen was on a sudden after the defeat against Switzerland.
When ‘s chief editor Jussi Saarinen asked Jalose what kind of credit Jalose has for the team before the quarter-final against Sweden, the head coach answered spiky.
– Better than you. I mean, damn good.
The question was completely normal and relevant in the Lions’ situation towards the World Cup playoffs.
Marjamäki reminds that Jalose has a strong competitive spirit.
– Of course, it can certainly be seen that Jukka is not yet satisfied with how the team has played, Marjamäki formulates.
He also knows what a pressure cooker the Lions’ head coach position is. Marjamäki worked at pesti from 2016 to 2018.
– I completely understand that sometimes this happens. This is an emotional sport, says Marjamäki.
Improving Finnish hockey with a big conclave
Marjamäki says that Leijonat will play its best game of the tournament against Sweden’s star team on Thursday.
Leijonat is the real underdog in the match. Sweden went to the World Cup with no fewer than 18 NHL players as the brightest stars, the top defenders Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson. The Lions have four NHL players.
Marjamäki believes that the Lions’ style of play is suitable against Sweden.
– This is not an easy situation for Sweden either, when they know they are a clear early favorite. Although Sweden has top individuals, Finland is the worst possible opponent for Sweden, Marjamäki estimates.
Marjamäki was in Prague when Finnish ice hockey coaches gathered for a three-day seminar to reflect on the state of Finnish ice hockey. Forty coaches and a dozen sports directors were there.
Marjamäki admits that one should always be concerned about the state of Finnish ice hockey. The first thing that came to mind was one big thing.
– In the 1990s, 4,000 children started playing hockey every year. Now there will be 2,500. So there will be almost half as many hockey players, says Marjamäki.
In the same breath, he says that the number of Finnish NHL bookings has not collapsed. Currently, there are also many top Finnish players in their prime in the NHL.
– This time they are not helping Leijon. Maybe we would have needed one or two top strikers from there, says Marjamäki.
Marjamäki believes that we may now be at a kind of turning point. He lists many historical changes in Finnish hockey, from the salaries of head coaches and skill coaches to the iconic seminar of 2009.
– Now is probably another time to think about what to do. There will be 16 teams in the SM league. Where are our Finnish players? Will there be too many foreigners in the SM league? We are constantly investigating what is being done in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. We try to keep up with the times, says Marjamäki.