The center of the second chain of the Lions Antti Suomela will return to the lineup that will play after three flute games based on Thursday’s practice Joel Armian and Kaapo Kako in the middle.
Suomela, who was on the sidelines due to a lower limb injury, played a good 13 minutes against the United States and there were few Finns who did not get cold in the opening match, which ended in a 1-4 loss. Out of his six starts, he won three of his own.
– The playing condition is a hundred levels at the moment, and today (in training) nothing terribly happened. Let’s go tomorrow, assured Suomela, bursting with enthusiasm for the game.
The 29-year-old striker collected a mighty 37+29=66 points in 51 games in the SHL main series, conquered the series’ points market and goal market. In addition, Suomela was recognized as the most valuable player in Sweden’s main league.
Suomela played in the World Cup camp group of the Lions before the World Cup in seven preparatory national matches, where the power of your balance is 3+1=4.
– I think the Sweden game showed how well we can play together. At least the understrength has been good. Performance can always be improved, although five goals yesterday (against France) is never bad. With the upper hand, a few more goals would sound quite good, said Suomela about his remarks in the stands.
“Quick movements and passes”
Suomela has 51 NHL games under his belt from the 2018–21 seasons. In the Leijona shirt, at least at this point in Tampere, he is speeding up the attackers of the dollar league, NY Rangers’ Kakko and Montreal’s Armia.
– We want to play as a chain on the puck – specifically on the offensive end. We all have good attacking qualities. You need fast movements and at the same time also fast passes with the puck. In addition to that, we have to apply ourselves to the goal posts, and there, of course, efficiency is required from us as well. All the ingredients are there, now we just have to implement them.
Offensive chains need cooperation and chemistry to succeed on the World Cup ice.
– It all starts with us being on the same page and helping each other all the time. There are things that have been agreed upon that are being done. However, Lätkä is so fast, and situations change and live, that a lot has to be adapted in the rink. The biggest thing for me is working together and also the fact that if someone makes a mistake, the other person is there to help right away. That will get the puck back quickly, reminds Suomela.
In the three remaining matches of the preliminary series, Finland will face Hungary on Friday, Austria on Saturday and Denmark on Tuesday.
– Solid defensive play and good 60-minutes, and the opponents are not given a lot of chances. At the same time, we are efficient in our own places. In national team games, there are never many top pitches, so attitude is needed to score goals, Suomela emphasizes.
No more boring shit, no magic tricks needed
Olli Määttä, 28, is a trusted player in Finland’s bottom tier. At this point in the tournament, he is the Lions’ playing time king with almost 19.30 minutes per match.
– There is room for improvement in my own game. A certain calm must be found and defended more through the center. Sometimes (in a European rink) it’s not worth going near the sides when there’s so much space, Määtta thinks critically.
In the opinion of the two-time Stanley Cup winner, Finland has mostly defended well, although he admits that there have been too many small mistakes.
– We haven’t quite been on the same page (for five years). This needs to be improved.
Määttä can see that Leijonat has tried to play a little too fine hockey in front of the home crowd.
– We will need a duller latke in the future. You have to trust that the five-man game works, that is, that everyone does their job. I have also felt that I have tried too much (in the bowl). There is no need to do any magic tricks there. Simple is always better, then it is easier for chain friends to read situations.
Finland has four games behind it in the World Cup tournament. The overall look has been tacky so far.
– In Leijon, it’s mostly about getting on the same page – not about everyone trying and giving their best. The atmosphere is always good and everyone cheers each other on. In every game you have to improve and find something new on the way to the playoffs. That’s the thing, impaling Määtt.
Lions’ lineup in Thursday’s training
1:
Teemu Hartikainen – Sakari Manninen – Mikko Rantanen
Mikko Lehtonen – Atte Ohtamaa
2:
Joel Armia – Antti Suomela – Kaapo Kakko
Olli Määttä – Miika Koivisto
3:
Harri Pesonen – Juho Lammikko – Kasperi Kapanen
Mikael Seppälä – Ville Pokka
4:
Waltteri Merelä – Hannes Björninen – Marko Anttila
Niklas Friman – Nikolas Matinpalo
1. superiority:
Pesonen – Manninen – Hartikainen – Rantanen – Lehtonen
2. superiority:
Second – Armia – Kapanen – Suomela – Määttä