Finland knocked out the UK in their fifth match in the first round with a goal of 6–0. The Finnish defenders rushed for power points when NHL reinforcements Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell played their first match.
20.5. 18:33 • Updated May 20th. 20:18
Finland grabbed its fourth victory in its home hockey World Championships at the expense of the United Kingdom. The lions knocked down the island state team with goals 6–0 in Tampere Arena.
The Finnish goals were matched in the match Niklas Friman, Juuso Hietanen, Valtteri Filppula, Joel Armia, Saku Mäenalanen and Toni Rajala.
Except for the start of the second installment, Britain was a full opponent against Finland. The Finnish offensive game milled comfortably in the British defensive area from the beginning. The biggest problems in Britain were the cutting of cross and cross feeds, when Finland tore up the defensive area of white shirts.
Although Finland ruled, Britain was a tenacious act. The British continued to struggle and skate through the match, but Finland’s uniform and mature playing decided the game early on. Keeper Ben Bowns stretched to several rescues, repelling the Lions in a disk a total of 36 times.
However, the British misfortune in the match was visible. As many as three of the Lions ’shots ended up kicking off the UK player before crossing the finish line.
Head coach Jukka Jalosen A factor that differed from the game book was the clearly more active participation of Finnish defenders in offensive play. The lions’ compartment sometimes greedily stepped up to support the attacks. This was also reflected in the scoreboard, when two Finnish defenders succeeded in scoring and seven packs reached the power points.
Niklas Friman, who scored the most points and scored one goal, scored the most points among Finland’s defenders. Also in their first World Cup match, they played in the Dallas Stars reinforcements Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell served one feed to the man.
– They are top confirmations for us and certainly more is promised as they recover from the time difference. They were already playing the top match, the Lions Mikko Lehtonen noted the appearance of Stars newcomers to Sport.
– Yes, there were cold shivers on my back when I jumped into the trough today. The feeling was a little tense, but at the same time excited. I set my goal to play as strong a game as I have played in the NHL. During the game, I realized for myself that I might have been able to grind more with the puck at times. It’s something I can improve in a big trough, Lindell judges himself by playing.
Niklas Friman, 1 + 1
Juuso Hietanen, 1 + 0
Sami Vatanen, 0 + 1
Mikko Lehtonen, 0 + 1
Esa Lindell, 0 + 1
Atte Ohtamaa, 0 + 1
Miro Heiskanen, 0 + 1
Finland scored only one goal against Britain, where no defender scored a power point.