The USA beat Finland in the under-20 men’s ice hockey World Cup semi-final 3-2. Five minutes before the end, the Swedish judges gave the Finn a confusing suspension. The light ice blew the minds of the Finnish camp.
Timo Uusitalo,
Jussi Saarinen
The Swedish judge duo Tobias Björk – Daniel Eriksson gave the evening at the end of the semi-final against the whistle line Kasper Kulonumme to a wonderful hooking ice, during which Cutter Gauthier scored a 3–2 winning goal in 56:47.
– I tried to grab the puck with one hand, and apparently the guy fell over. That’s cool then. I can’t comment on the situation any further, said the frozen Kulonummi.
– Today it hurts all evening, but you have to gather yourself for the last match. The WC bronze is of interest to everyone.
Finland’s head coach Lauri Mikkola stated that the result of the match must be respected.
– After a good first set, the opponent was able to play to their strengths in the second set. The third set was pretty even, that’s a shame at the end.
The coach didn’t take a bigger stand on the questionable coldness of the semi-final, even though he could see from his body language that he was boiling inside.
– It was a bit light (cold), but it’s just swallowable and tolerable. It was a great underdog game, but with one great shot, the Yankees did it (the winning goal). We also had places to beat it to the end (with superiority), but we didn’t succeed in that this time. The flame faded a little, but it will come back tomorrow, Mikkola emphasized.
“A classic, now it’s settled down to a bit of an easy ice cream”
Passed Finland’s 2–0 goal Arttu Kärki was of few words and disappointed.
– There would have been nothing better than playing in the World Cup final against Sweden. There are no words to describe how I feel right now. One game left and a chance to win a medal. It must motivate every player.
Talking about Kulonumme’s mild cold clearly caused pain for the Finnish defender.
– Quite a classic. These games come down to small things, and now it came down to a bit of an easy freeze. It feels bad, but this is hockey. The past can no longer be changed.
The striker of the four chain Emil Hemming saw that positivity has to be dug out in a difficult place. And that’s the fact that Finland still has a chance for World Cup bronze.
Hemming passed the bitter ice court judgment with a couple of sentences.
– I don’t think it was an ice-cold in accordance with the nature of this match, but it happened, and nothing can be done about it.
Finnish goalkeeper Niklas Kokko regretted that there won’t necessarily be too many final places in my career.
– There is a lot going on in my mind, what could have been done better.
The goalkeeper of the Young Lions could not do anything for a high-quality 3-2 winning goal.
– Of course, every (shot) can be taken. I tried to catch it, but it just wouldn’t stay. For every guy in the booth, this team means so much that there is sure to be a forced download for Friday’s bronze medal game. The medal is wanted in Finland, and it will only come through work.
Kulonummi’s decisive catch in 55.00 was not a hooking catch according to the rulebook.
– It was a big chill. Whether it was a hook or not, we couldn’t influence it then, and we can’t anymore. Judges judge. Sometimes the judgments are good in our direction, and sometimes they are not, Kokko described the judgments that caused a stir.