Finland defeats Russia, wins 1st Olympic gold in hockey

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BEIJING-HOCKEY MASCULINO

The Finnish ice hockey team defeated the men’s tournament favorite Russian team 2-1 on Sunday to win the final at the Olympics. Beijing and win an Olympic gold for the first time in the history of the country. The defending champions had to settle for silver.

Finland, which had never won in men’s or women’s hockey at a Winter Olympics, prevailed without any NHL players. His last final had been in 2006, when he lost to Sweden. In 1988 he also got the silver medal.

After taking gold in 2018 as Russian Olympians, the Russians were competing this time as the Russian Olympic Committee. The two denominations were responding to doping and cover-up sanctions in various Olympic sports.

Regardless of the team name, the silver they won in Beijing was the 32nd men’s hockey medal they had taken home.

Although the Russians looked like the new favorites following the NHL folded due to scheduling issues associated with the pandemic, the big winners were the Finns. With recent NHL players like captain Valtteri Filppula, forward Leo Komarov, and defenders Sami Vatanen and Mikko Lehtonen, Finland had the firepower to go along with their trademark strengths: a strong structure, defense and goalkeeping.

That combination helped Finland go unbeaten following six games, including a three-goal comeback to defeat Sweden in the preliminary round. Finland defeated Sweden, Slovakia and Russia to win the tournament with efficient play under veteran coach Jukka Jalonen.