Teemu Selanne has led Team Finland to the gold medal game against Sweden.

Selanne's pond of dreams
By Rich Libero | NHL.com
Feb. 24, 2006

"We met once when I was little boy," Finland forward Teemu Selanne said. "We were playing outdoors and we won that time. I hope we can win again."

Finland won on Friday night at the Olimpico Palasport for the seventh straight game, this time holding one of the most talent-laden teams in the world without a goal in a 4-0 victory. Having beaten their neighbors to the east, Finland will now concentrate on their rivals to the west.

"Hopefully we can play our best game Sunday and if not, we can live with it," Selanne said.

That day on the pond, Selanne said they chose sides. His brother was in goal. "He wasn't very good, but we still won anyway."

Related Links Perfect Finns finish off Russians Semifinal photo gallery NHL.com's Olympics section 2006 Finland Olympic roster Buy Team Finland merchandise

But where did Selanne and company find Swedes to face off against? "We made captains, we picked sides and said 'You're Sweden, we're Finland.' They didn't like it."

What remains to be seen is if the Swedes will be as unhappy to be Swedes once they get done facing off against this team. These Finns, they're like an odor you can't shake, the little kid you don't want hanging around your group, that annoying cut on your finger that's always getting stung with cleaning chemicals.

The Finns set up this all-Scandinavian final by putting four goals behind San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov, who had been a rock in the tournament with three shutouts and 0.50 goals-against average.

"It was just great because we had played so well," Selanne said. "We didn't really worry about their talent."

Of course, the Finnish penalty kill was also responsible for a large part of the success. In the second period with Finland leading 3-0, the Russians enjoyed a five-on-three power play and failed to score. That, in essence helped seal the deal.

"Once we killed that five-on-three I knew were going to win the game," Nashville's Kimmo Timonen said.

There are some who are surprised that the Finnish team has gotten to the final, but this had been building for quite some time. The Finns advanced to the World Cup Final in 2004 where they lost to host Canada. They secured bronze medals in the 1994 and '98 Winter Olympics and won the 1995 World Championship. Perhaps the most promising sign is the fact that their World Junior teams have scored medals at the World Junior Championships four times between 2002 and 2006.

"This team has been together for almost two years and Teemu's line has been together for about 10 years now," Niko Kapanen said.

"It helps that we've played so long together," Selanne said. "We've got chemistry."

The Finns jelled quickly as a team.

"We started off well in the first game even though it was tough because we had not had much practice," Dallas' Jere Lehtinen said. "But we showed we could play right away and that first game started it all off for us. Since then, we have tried to build our own game and play a tight game. For the whole tournament we have been building and building."

They're playing a five-man brand of hockey with two forecheckers and the third man high. Even against Russia's fleet forwards they didn't give up an odd-man rush the entire game. The Russians were forced to play with at least one Finn attached to them at all times.

Russian players passed through the Mixed Zone media area looking tired and defeated. Darius Kasparaitis had a nick on his chin from a shot to the face while Ilya Kovalchuk sported wadding up his nose and a trickle of blood on his upper lip. This game wasn't for the weak.

"It is team defense," defenseman Teppo Numminen said. "Antero (Niittymaki) made some great saves, but there is a team concept on defense. We were able to keep them to the outside and we kept them from coming through the neutral zone."

"We didn't give up anything," Timonen said. "No three-on-twos, no two-on-ones, breakaways, nothing."

Perhaps that's one of the reasons why Philadelphia's Niittymaki has performed so well in these Olympics. The 25-year old is sporting a 5-0-0 record with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .963 save percentage.

Not bad for a guy originally targeted to back up Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff before he was sidelined with a hip injury. The Finns also lost defensemen Joni Pitkanen and Ossi Vaananen.

"We miss those guys, but what can you do?" Timonen said. "We decided as a group 'Don't worry about that, we have to go out and play as a team.'"

And they have. Better than any team in the tournament.

With Sweden's superb effort against the Czechs and Finland's current form, the gold-medal game should be something to behold and Selanne hinted that if Finland wins again, it might just be enough for him to end his international career.

"You never know," Selanne said. "That would be something."

One more game on the pond, this time on the biggest stage in the world.