The Lions’ Day in the Czech EHT ended with a 0-2 loss to Tre Kronor. Finland had won 15 consecutive national matches, but was left with zero in Sweden.
1.5. 17: 09 • Updated May 1.5. 17:15
The Finnish men’s hockey national team suffered their first defeat in their international matches in preparation for the World Championships when Sweden took a 2–0 victory in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Sunday.
Sweden scored in the first set Elmer Söderblom and in the second installment Filip Rooswho scored 1 + 1 points in the EHT tour match.
In its first two tournament games, Finland defeated the Czech Republic in the winning goal competition 2–1 and after the break 4–2 in Austria, but on the day of the day, the Lions goal column was zero.
– Probably Sweden deserved its victory. One goal should have been made so that we could have gotten subcutaneously, Finland’s head coach Jukka Jalonen said to TV5.
– The defense game was a bit vulnerable at first, but we improved. We also had plots to paint, he added.
In the Finnish goal against Sweden, he played like a Czech match Jussi Olkinuora, who now accumulated 26 fights. Swedish goalkeeper Marcus Högberg hit 21 times in front of the puck.
Sweden cut the winning streak in Ostrava to 15 national matches.
The underpower game went great
The lions were able to practice the game of underpower with a contract, as Finland was sentenced to six two-minute colds. The game of force majeure went well, as Sweden could not punish with force once.
Sweden, which lost 3–9 to the Czech Republic on Saturday, was compensated against Finland for the loss they suffered in a mutual match at the Beijing Olympics. At that time, Finland suffered from a three-goal loss.
– Maybe Sweden had more need to achieve, the will to win after the previous day’s squat loss, the head coach Jalonen speculated.
In the previous spring season, Finland has won both Denmark and Norway twice in the preparatory national matches.
Finland will next meet Switzerland in the EHT tour next Thursday in Tampere. After that, the Lions will travel to Stockholm, where it will meet the Czech Republic and Sweden on consecutive days over the weekend.
There will be more player changes
After winning the match against Austria on Saturday, Jalonen estimates that the Lions team will still change after the Czech tournament.
– Players have been seen. Let’s think in peace about what we need to improve, Jalonen said after the game in Sweden.
Player changes will be announced early in the week.
– There will probably be new players. It will probably be told on Monday who will come and who will leave the group, Jalonen said.
There are speculations about possible NHL confirmations. In recent years, however, NHL players have played a small role in Jalonen’s value teams.
The Finnish World Cup home tournament will be played in Tampere and Helsinki on 13-29. May.