Latvia was not a strange opponent, but the change of the Young Lions on a mental level promises much better for the rest of the tournament, writes Urheilu’s reporter Simo Arkko.
Simo Arkkourheilhu reporter
GOTHENBURG. “Turn! Just go! Hey!”
An interesting change was visible in the body language of the young Lions. In previous matches, the team had been accused of lack of spirit and red tape, but now every player seemed to be present.
Finland defeated Latvia 4–0 Jere Lassilan, Jesse Pulkkinen, Kasper Halttunen and Oiva Keskinen with goals. The one who started his first game in the goal of the Young Lions Noa Vali had a shutout game with 23 saves.
The players constantly helped each other with speech. An excellent example of this was Jesse Pulkkinen’s 2–0 goal. Talk in your own area, easy input next to and forward.
Finland received a superior attack and Pulkkinen swam to the second wave. Puck and hands to the ceiling, substitution bench up.
The same thing happened in the third goal. Kasper Kulonummi shouted “pressure, help!”. Finland kept the puck in the attack area and a moment later Kasper Halttunen first scored a goal and then made a nice clearance.
Now Finland showed emotion and fanned their goals. This was expected.
Captain Jere Lassila (1+3), on the other hand, led the team productively and also on a mental level. He hit the loose ball with superior strength and fanned Finland’s first hit with a wild roar. The shouting continued in front of the bench.
Lassila woke up the sleeping lion and showed how to participate in matches.
We should not forget that Lassila also scored a “dream goal” from the coach’s point of view.
Lauri Mikkola had emphasized goal-scoring support and mask play before the match. And Lassila also succeeded in that, as in JYP, when she played the same role.
Finland, which lost its first two matches of the tournament, to Canada and Germany, got relief from its pain with a 4–0 victory after a disastrous start.
Although Latvia has not been a great opponent in these games, it is on a mental level that the change of the Young Lions promises much better for the rest of the tournament.
Urheilu closely follows the under-20 hockey world championships in the application and on its website. Moods are also conveyed on Urheilurutu and Urheiluradio. The match program can be found here.