Finland is going to get a medal from the World Championships in the USA. According to head coach Juuso Toivola, the team has only one goal in the Games: a medal.
The Finnish women’s national ice hockey team has two World Championships behind them without a medal game. So it’s clear what the Women’s Lions’ goal is when the puck hits the ice in Utica, USA next week at the World Cup ice.
– Yes, our expectation from this tournament is the medal and, above all, winning the quarter-final battle. Of course, we have thought about how things have gone in past seasons, but they are now in the past. That’s what we’re focusing on now, head coach Juuso Toivola stated to Urheilu in his interview at Naisleijonien’s media day.
The goal is clearly shared. One of the most important players of the Naislijons, a defending goalkeeper in the Swedish SDHL Anni Keisala was directly along the same lines.
– I expect that we will go get a medal there. We want to raise and improve our level from the previous two games.
The groups of the Women’s World Cup are determined according to the rankings of the previous games, in which case the five best countries play in the tougher A-level group. Finland’s fifth place in the last Games brings Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic and Switzerland as opponents in Group A.
I face the temptation of the previous games now in the first group
During Finland’s two previous games, the Czech Republic has emerged as the main monster. Both 2022 in Denmark and 2023 in Canada fell to the Czechs in the quarterfinals.
– We have had very good struggles against them and now we will get one already in the first group. However, it’s great to be in the A group anyway and face the early favorites of the Games, Canada and the United States.
Toivola firmly states that the quarter-final is once again the game where the Finnish Games culminate.
– We want our starting group to have good games below and from there progress towards the quarter-finals. That’s what we want to move on from. We have talked about it a lot among the team, Toivola says firmly.
Finland sought a certain kind of mental upper hand in February’s EHT tournament, when it defeated the Czech Republic on its home ice with a score of 6–1.
Desired returnees included
Naisleijon has experienced a lot of turbulence in recent years. The national team has had internal team upheavals during the prestigious competitions, and the results at the World Championships have remained weak or minimal.
Last spring, those who were part of Naisleijoni’s credit players Susanna Tapani and Michelle Karvinen announced that they would miss the World Cup. This spring, the experienced duo will be seen again in the lion shirt. Tapani, who plays professional hockey in the PWHL, especially brings firepower to the Finnish team.
In the interview, Toivola emphasizes that the atmosphere within the team was good during the previous couple of events and that he is happy about the “returnees” from the Games.
– It has been nice to have them along. They bring the necessary experience. It’s harder to make choices every year because of the quality, but I’m happy with this team. I believe it is ready to play winning small rink puck.
In the selections, four first-timers from the domestic Women’s League, a goalkeeper, made it to the Games Tiia Pajarinendefenders Oona Koukula and Siiri Yrjölä as well as the attacker Julia Schalin. Instead, he scored a whopping 39 goals in Kiekko-Espoo’s shirt in the regular season Lisette Taks was left out of the competition team.
Toivola still says in the interview that he is confident that the team will be effective in Utica as well. In addition to the ability to score goals, he cites his team’s strengths as the possession game and the readiness to fight in duels. They are needed in the North American narrow trough
– We are now gathering at the preparation camp and we are still polishing the last things. In particular, we want to improve our play in front of goal. It also applies to scoring. We want to take into account, in addition to fighting, the fact that we are constantly alert during matches, he enthuses.
The Women’s Ice Hockey World Cup will be played in Utica, USA from 3rd to 14th. April. Urheilu follows the Naisleijonien’s performances in the games in all its media.