Programs
Competitions
Venues
Access
A la carte
Photo Album
From the Olympics Toword Tomorrow
 |
Finland downs Canada 3-2 to claim ice hockey bronze
15:15 FIN 3-2 CAN
Up-and-coming Ville Peltonen scored on the power play in the third period and veteran goaltender Ari Sulander made 34 saves as Finland defeated Canada 3-2 Saturday for the men's ice hockey bronze medal at the Nagano Olympics.
Finland's bronze matches its performance in Lillehammer four years ago and is a moral victory for the team many considered only a distant dark horse in the first Olympics featuring the top players of North America's National Hockey League (NHL).
Canada, meanwhile, emotionally drained after its shoot-out loss to the Czech Republic on Friday, were listless on the ice and will go home empty-handed -- after coming to Nagano as the clear gold medal favorite.
Finland started the game without top star Teemu Selanne, who was sidelined with a pulled stomach muscle, but, nevertheless, went up 1-0 early on a power-play goal by Jari Kurri.
With Steve Yzerman off the ice for holding, the Colorado Avalanche forward took a pass from Esa Tikkanen in the slot and fired a shot between the legs of Colorado teammate Patrick Roy, who was in goal for Canada.
Canada got a break at 11:20 of the first period when two Finnish players were sent off on the same play giving the Canadians a two minute, two-man advantage.
But despite a barrage of shots, the Canadians were unable to beat Sulander.
''We had great goaltending and a lot of luck. I think the turning point of the game was when we killed off the two man penalty.
After that, we tried to play every shift as though we were down two men,'' said Finland's coach Hannu Aravirta.
While virtually unbeatable against the Czechs, Roy was largely unchallenged by the Finns taking only 15 shots on goal.
Canada came back to equalize at 16:50 of the first when Rob Brind'Amour of the Philadelphia Flyers picked up a rebound off an Adam Foote shot and fired it into the open net.
Late in the first, Saku Koivu, who plays for the NHL Montreal Canadiens, made a nice pass from the side of the Canadian net to the Dallas Stars' Jere Lehtinen who netted his fourth goal of the tournament and put Finland up by a goal again.
Canada tied the game 2-2 at 2:47 of the second period. Wayne Gretzky fed a pass to Brendan Shanahan who scored his second goal of the tournament with a shot between the legs of Finland's goalkeeper.
Sturdy defensive play and superb goaltending on both sides through most of the second and third periods were only interrupted by Peltonen's power play goal.
Peltonen, whose father was a four-time Olympic member through 1980, put Finland up 3-2 after only 17 seconds of the third period when he beat Roy through the legs with a weak shot from the face-off circle.
As in Friday's 2-1 penalty shoot out loss to the Czech Republic, Canada's potent offense was frustrated by a hot goaltender.
Sulander, who plays for the Jokerit Club in Helsinki, has been a member of Finland's national team since 1993, but missed the Lillehammer Olympics.
The loss another bitter disappointment for the Canadians who had won every game of the tournament prior to Friday's semifinal defeat to The Czech Republic.
''This is my last game representing Canada. I've had a lot of great experiences representing Canada but there is no question that this will be my last time. We're disappointed we didn't the gold but this has been a great experience for all of us,'' said Wayne Gretzky following the game. (Kyodo News)
No part of the article, photographs, or illustrations presented here may be printed or used without permission.
Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun