The Finns have exhausted their victorious resource - Kommersant
The semi-finalists have been determined at the Ice Hockey World Championship, which takes place in Finland and Latvia. There were some surprises in the opening round of the playoffs. So the Latvian team defeated the Swedes - 3:1, and the German team beat the Swiss with the same score. Finished performance and the Finns, who were defeated by the Canadians - 1:4. And the Czechs could not oppose anything to the Americans - 0:3.
The main event of the quarterfinal stage of the World Cup, of course, was the confrontation between the national teams of Finland and Canada, which fought each other for gold medals at the three previous tournaments. In 2019 and 2022, the Finns took them, in 2021 - the Canadians, and in 2020 the championship was not held due to the coronavirus pandemic. But now the leaders of world hockey of recent years did not perform well at the group stage and met already at the start of the playoffs. The Finnish team suffered two defeats from the Americans and the Swedes, qualifying only from third place, while the Canadian team lost to the Swiss and even the Norwegians, finishing second.
It is clear that there was no favorite in this quarter-final, because both of them were considered the main contenders for the champion title. At the same time, the Finns had the advantage of their site, and it was in Tampere a year ago that they snatched victory from the Canadians in overtime. In addition, if the Maple Leaves gathered a completely new line-up, then the Lions still had many heroes of that final, led by Jukka Jalonen, under whose leadership they achieved simply outstanding results, winning not only two world championships in four years, but also but also the Olympics.
However, the hosts were the first to concede after Jack Quinn ran off to the counterattack, “cutting” the experienced defender Atte Ohtamaa one-on-one and flashing the goalkeeper Emil Larmy with the bottom. Canadians generally felt under the pressure of the opponent and his fans quite confidently, turning on the play-off mode. Even when the Finnish team had the majority, they defended smoothly and calmly, without putting their goalkeeper Sam Montembo in an uncomfortable position, and he coped with ordinary shots without any problems.
In the first period, the visible activity of Jalonen's wards did not lead to anything. After the break, they tried to push, adding even more aggression and expression. The puck was already almost constantly in the Canadian zone, and there was a feeling that it was about to find its way into the goal. However, Andre Turigny's team endured this unpleasant stretch, waited for the moment for another counterattack and organized the second goal. Samuel Blaze coolly implemented a two-for-one exit.
Having moved 2:0, the Canadians loosened their grip a little and gave the hosts a chance to at least reduce the difference. Kaapo Kakko, all alone, rolled out to Montembo, but fussed and did not figure out how to beat him. And then Kasperi Kapanen was alone in front of Montembo. He, unlike his partner, managed to throw, but the Canadian goalkeeper was unperturbed even in this situation. The most star player of the current Finnish national team, Mikko Rantanen, who scored 55 goals in the recent regular season of the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche, and in the Stanley Cup became the club's best sniper, also tried to portray something. But he, to put it mildly, did not shine, so the second twenty minutes ended 1-0 in favor of the Canadians.
The Finns were still hoping for a third period. That's just all their hopes very quickly crossed out Michael Carcone. In that episode, the Maple Leaves simply laid out the top five, and even Larmy's desperate jump did not save the helpless "lions" from the third goal. After that, there was no longer any doubt who would go to the semi-finals. Although Jalonen, more than three minutes before the end of normal time, took off the goalkeeper, releasing the sixth field player, and Teemu Hartikainen even pushed the puck into the net. But when, at the initiative of the Finnish coach, the match continued again in the six-on-five format, Tyler Toffoli hit an empty net, setting the final result - 4: 1.
As to other quarter-finals, then, of course, the national team of Latvia which has sent home Swedes has presented the main sensation. Yes, Tre Kronur had a modest team at this World Cup, but in a strong group it lost only to the Americans, and then in overtime. True, the match was held in Riga, and with the frantic support of the stands, the Latvians managed to catch the courage, which sometimes works wonders. The Scandinavians responded to the goal of Dans Lochmelis with an accurate throw by Timothy Liljegren. Moreover, they could build on the success when Mārtiņš Dzierkals earned a big fine. But the owners of the ice survived, and then veteran Miks Indrashis and Janis Jaks beat the Swedish national team for the most part. 3:1 - and thus it is the team of Harijs Vitolins, well known for working in tandem with Oleg Znark, who will now play with Canada in the semifinals.
The defeat of the Swiss national team, which, having taken first place in the group, received an opponent with the lowest, eighth seed among the play-off participants, can also be called a surprise, because the Germans scored the least points in the preliminary stage. It seemed that the Swiss, with their squad, were quite capable of taking a shot at the medals, but that was not the case. Losing 0-1 after the first period, they leveled the score with the efforts of Jonas Siegenthaler, and then acted on the powerplay for five minutes after Moritz Seider was sent off until the end of the match. However, the German team did not break down, having lost one of the leading hockey players. John Peterka put her ahead again, and soon Nico Sturm scored in the shorthand. As a result, the German team won 3:1 and went to the Americans, who dealt with the Czechs - 3:0.