MILANO.

The Lions ultimately won bronze at the Olympics. In the bronze match, they defeated Slovakia with a clear score of 6-1.

After the match, head coach Antti Pennanen described his feelings.

– Happy and joyful, especially for the players. A very committed, united team. They played excellent hockey. A very deserved medal, Pennanen said.

The team started the tournament with a loss to Slovakia. Then came the Paul Maurice controversy, a small norovirus incident, a last-minute rise in the quarter-finals, a bitter loss in the semi-finals, and finally bronze.

– We haven’t had anything too dramatic [in terms of ups and downs], although yesterday was a big disappointment. We played against a good team, we put them under pressure, Pennanen said.

– But after that game, we had a good meeting in the athlete village. After that, I had a pretty strong feeling that we would play well today.

Miro Heiskanen elaborated on what was discussed in the meeting.

– The more experienced guys like Granlund and [Olli] Määttä, who have been to the Olympics, talked about the experience of winning Olympic bronze. Also, the team’s support staff [Jere] Lehtinen and [Tuomo] Ruutu, Heiskanen said.

– These are the Olympics, and we had the opportunity to win a medal. It was easy to recharge.

From the bronze match, Pennanen wanted to highlight one player in particular.

– Let’s mention Roope Hintz. He has done a lot of excellent invisible work that doesn’t always show. It’s great that he scored a goal today and played wonderfully.

Jaakko Perttilä
X: @JaakkoPerttila

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