Finland wins Gold Medal at IIHF World Championships
Sweden made a great start to the game that saw them coming up with strong plays and attacks every now and then.
There were several occasions where the Swedish had scoring chances but they failed to score any goals. However, the Swedish finally scored a goal to get into the lead. Sweden was hoping to lead as the final period started but things turned out to be totally
different.
With only 30 seconds of play remaining, the Finnish scored a brilliant goal that was scored by Jarrko Immonen to level the scores. The goal was scored after Swedish player, David Petrasek came up with an unnecessary foul that saw him going out and giving
Finland the advantage.
The final period proved to be an even better treat for Finland, as they bagged five more goals to come up with a brilliant 6-1 win in the end. The win effectively gave Finland their second goal medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World
Championships.
Both teams were pretty much even when it came to performances during the first period with both goal keepers of the two teams combining to make 25 saves. The win also gave Finland their first title win after 16 years with the last goal medal coming in 1995
that was also against Sweden.
The Finnish have had problems of not being able to win the gold, as they have won four silver medals, which puts them on level terms with Canada for most silver medals.
Sweden, on the other hand, will be regretting the two power-plays, during which they failed to score. The reason that Sweden was unable to extend their advantage, later came back to haunt them, as Finland was able to level the scores.
The Finnish were able to carry the momentum forward and scored late in the dying stages of the second period. They continued from where they left off in the second period and attacked. The Finnish showed Sweden how to complete the job by scoring goals every
now and then.
"The Finns were the better team", admitted Mårts, who coached the Swedish in the U20 Championships, and, won them silver medals in 2008, and, 2009.
He further added that, "They played much better on defence and had more power. Nobody on the Swedish team played his best game. I’m proud that my team had a pretty good tournament. Not the best, but it’s a start for something better".
There were several chances where Sweden could have scored but they were unable to take advantage of the several chances that came their way. In the end, it was Finland, who lifted the Cup, and took home the 2011 IIHF World Championships.
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