Young Lions captain Jere Lassila stood out in the Latvia match. According to Lassila, the players wanted to show the importance of the games.
GOTHENBURG. Captain Jere Lassila was in top form when Finland defeated Latvia in a pressure game.
Finland had a must-win spot, but Lassila, who started the scoring spree, led Nuoret Leijonat to a 4–0 victory with four points in the afternoon.
– There was a big desire to be good today, when I knew that with a loss we would be out of the tournament. A big pressure game, and it often raises my performance level, I can enjoy the pressure, Lassila tells Urheilu.
The Young Lions went on the ice in the morning of the game day, but spent Thursday’s break in meetings. According to Lassila, the players came up with reasons for the bad start.
– We thought about what we can improve. The players definitely had mental blocks and we tried to break them down as well. So that we can get the idea into play and the performance better. It worked today.
Feel visible
Young Lions looked more relaxed against Latvia and the players fanned the goals with passion. According to Lassila, the team had talked about showing emotion.
– Yes, we talked about the need to make the feeling visible on the outside as well. Actually, we seem like this is really important to us. No need to hold back, just let it all come out. It was probably visible in my first airing as well, says Lassila.
Lassila, who was promoted to the number one center in the match, says that there was a lot of talk on the field and the court was also much more lively.
– We got energy from it and a good feeling at the beginning, when we immediately got into the game and saw that this is our game.
The young Lions have a great opportunity
According to the captain, Nuoret Leijonat has at least partially found reasons behind the bad mood at the beginning.
However, the victory does not make Lassila bang his braces. He reminds that a previously weaker opponent like Latvia must be able to win with a routine performance.
– Nothing away from us, however. This was an important win and we knew what was at stake. Nice to be able to play against Sweden on New Year’s Eve.
Sweden has been strong at the beginning of the Games, as it has beaten Latvia 6–0 and Germany 5–0.
– We have played with Sweden a few times this year in really tight scoring games. We haven’t gotten them translated yet, but now is a great opportunity to do so.
– I believe that this game feeds self-confidence. Everyone knows their own skills. I bet we’ll have a great game.
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.