Slovakia may have started the Olympic men’s hockey tournament with an upset of Finland. However, the Finns got the last laugh with a 6-1 victory in the bronze medal game Saturday at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. This is the fifth medal for Finland in the last six Winter Olympics.
Finland avenged a 4-1 loss to Slovakia in the opening game of the tournament. Let’s break down Finland getting the bronze medal in the third-place game.
Finland Beats Slovakia to Get Bronze at Milano Cortina Games
The Juuse is Loose
Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros ended the Winter Olympics on a strong note for his home country. Finland may have lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Canada in the semifinal round. However, Saros did all he could to will his team to victory.
Some worry about how a goalie and a team will react to such a crushing loss. However, Saros and the Finns were up to the task against the Slovaks. Nashville’s netminder has been brilliant with a strong defensive group in front of him.
It seems that Saros has cemented his place as the country’s top goalie. There was some concern about not having Buffalo Sabres netminder Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen after his injury ruled him out. However, Saros is the go-to option if available.
Finnishing Strong
Finland’s three goals in the third period put this game out of reach. Slovakia injected some life into the game with a goal by team captain Tomas Tatar. His goal with 30 seconds left in the second period made it 2-1 for Finland.
However, the Finns buckled down and turned the screws on Slovakia in the final frame. Four goals in the third by Roope Hintz, Kaapo Kakko, Joel Armia and Erik Haula ended any chance that Slovakia had to crawl back into this one.
The medal may not be the colour that Finland wanted. However, the Finns are one of the top teams in the world. They were less than a minute away from playing in Sunday’s gold medal game. However, this should be considered a successful tournament. Finland has gotten at least a bronze in five of the six tournaments that have featured NHL players. The first tournament NHL players were part of the Olympics was in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.
Still a Successful Tournament for Slovakia
Despite the loss, this should be considered a successful tournament for Slovakia. The Slovaks ended the Olympics with two consecutive losses. However, they were against the United States and Finland, who are considered two hockey powers.
Slovakia did beat Finland, 4-1, in the opening game of tournament and looked like the best team in the event at times. This was also done despite there only being seven NHL players on the roster. There were some players that had experience before heading back to Europe. However, many though the other rosters were too deep for the Slovaks to contender with. Despite this, Slovakia hung with the best hockey nations.
The event also saw Montreal Canadiens youngster Juraj Slafkovsky and St. Louis Blues forward Dalibor Dvorsky burst onto the scene. Slovakia does have a bright future in store if it can keep developing its young talent.
Main photo by: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
