Olympic bronze for the Lions! Finland got revenge on Slovakia
Slovakia defeated Finland 4–1 in the opening match of the entire Olympic tournament, so Antti Pennanen’s team did not head into the bronze medal match as the overwhelming favorite, even though the Slovaks can be considered the biggest surprise of the tournament.
The Lions’ squad, fueled by their loss in the opening match, claimed the sixth Finnish medal (one silver, five bronze) of the ongoing Winter Olympics and left Slovakia’s medal count at zero with a 6–1 revenge victory on Saturday night.
Before the game, it was announced that Mikko Rantanen would not be able to play due to a lower body injury. The absence of the star forward did not slow Finland down, and other top players stepped up in the bronze battle.
Sebastian Aho opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the game from close range. The Finns pushed the puck into the crease battle led by Artturi Lehkonen, who set up Aho to score.
In the second period, Finland took a two-goal lead when Erik Haula’s shot surprised Slovakian goalie Samuel Hlavaj. This goal was credited to the Slovak goalie, even though the shot was excellent.
Slovakia found hope
Slovakia appeared fatigued during the second period played in long shifts, but gained energy for the third period with a locker room goal that came somewhat fortunately. The puck bounced to Tomáš Tatar, who managed to score with a backhand shot half a minute before the intermission.
In the third period, the Lions scored a relieving 3–1 goal at 48:27. The refereeing was lenient, but Finland capitalized on one of their power plays when Roope Hintz redirected Miro Heiskanen’s point shot into the net.
Just half a minute later, Kaapo Kakko scored a solo effort goal making it 4–1, allowing Finland to pull away closer to the bronze. Kakko shot accurately into the back corner off the post.
Slovakia pulled their goalie early, and Haula, who scored his second goal, along with Joel Armia, who had 1+2 points, managed to add 5–1 and 6–1 goals into the empty net.
Mikael Granlund left the game in the final moments after receiving a hit. Other players worthy of mention include Oliver Kapanen, who was one of the most dangerous Lions players and hit the post a couple of times, as well as goalie Juuse Saros, who made several big saves while in the lead.
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