Sweden defeated Finland 4–3 in Sunday’s EHT match. Now a thinning is expected in the squad and the head coach Jukka Jalonen will in the near future present the players who get to wear the WC shirt.
Finland’s men’s hockey finished the EHT tournament in the Czech Republic by facing Sweden. The match was 3-3 after normal match time and was decided in extra time where Swede Pär Lindholm scored the winning goal from close range.
With four minutes left, Finland led 3–2, but Sweden and Fabian Zetterlund equalized at 3–3 when 56.08 had been played.
Finland’s goals were scored by Teemu Hartikainen, Antti Suomela and Ahti Oksanen. Christian Heljanko fick vkata mielt och giordet det bra. Saldot blev 30 räddningar på 34 skott.
In terms of play, the match was Finland’s best this week and head coach Jukka Jalonen was generally pleased.
– We took three expulsions in the third period. We have to play smarter, tougher and smarter in our own zone. Now we had to pay for it.
– Other than that, I have nothing to complain about. We were good today, says Jalonen in Discovery’s broadcast.
Finland’s lineup
Attack Chains:
Markus Granlund – Sakari Manninen – Teemu Hartikainen
Toni Rajala – Antti Suomela – Waltteri Merelä
Jere Sallinen – Mikael Ruohomaa – Kasperi Kapanen
Ahti Oksanen – Juho Lammikko – Marko Anttila
Back Pair:
Mikko Lehtonen – Atte Ohtamaa
Juuso Riikola – Valtteri Kemiläinen
Miika Koivisto – Nikolas Matinpalo
Petteri Lindbohm – Ville Pokka
Goalkeepers:
Christian Heljanko
(Jussi Olkinuora)
Utanför laget: Emil Larmi, Niklas Friman, Olli Määttä, Mikael Seppälä, Joel Armia, Hannes Björninen, Harri Pesonen.
Now the Finnish World Cup squad must be nailed down. It is still unclear whether the squad will be presented on Sunday or Monday.
– We don’t have a pleasant evening ahead of us. But it is part of the job to thin out the squad, says Jalonen.
Jalonen did not yet want to say anything about Patrik Laine’s participation in the WC.
Finland finishes last in the EHT tournament. Before the match against Sweden, Finland had defeated the Czech Republic 3–2 after extra time and suffered a 1–2 loss against Switzerland.
The Ice Hockey World Cup starts on Friday when Finland meets the USA.
Results
Sweden–Finland 4–3 (1–0, 1–2, 1–1, 1–0)
12.13 1–0 André Petersson (Pär Lindholm)
26.25 1–1 Teemu Hartikainen (Sakari Manninen, Mikko Lehtonen) PP
36.19 2–1 Henrik Tömmernes (Lucas Raymond, Oscar Lindberg)
39.35 2–2 Antti Suomela (Walteri Merelä)
42.35 2–3 Ahti Oksanen (Marko Anttila) BP
56.08 3–3 Fabian Zetterlund (Oscar Lindberg, Lucas Raymond) PP
61.28 4–3 Pär Lindholm (André Petersson)
Goalkeepers:
Jesper Wallstedt, SWE: 8+11+3+0=22
Christian Heljanko, FIN 11+3+15+1=30
