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Although he ended up on the losing end, Finland netminder Antero Niittymaki was named tournament MVP for his 5-1-0 record, three shutouts and 1.34 GAA.
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Finns: Almost perfect
By Rich Libero | NHL.com
Feb. 26, 2006
TORINO, Italy - Finland completed the Olympic hockey tournament with a 7-1 record, the top two point-getters, a goalie who was named most valuable player and all they got for their incredible and memorable effort was a silver medal that looks like a compact disc.
For all of Finland's efforts, they got the medal that no one in hockey wants. Their 3-2 loss in the gold medal game put a devastating end to a seven-game winning streak, incredible team play and goaltending, leaving them with an empty feeling.
To be the runner up in the gold medal is to beg the question: Is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Either way, it hurts more for the Finns than the teams that didn't even make it to the quarterfinals.
"It's a proud moment, but also a tough one," Finnish captain Saku Koivu said. "There's moments like this in sport, in hockey, where it's tough to see the positive at the moment."
Koivu shared the tournament scoring lead with his Linemate, Teemu Selanne. Each had 11 points with Koivu getting three goals and Selanne six. They, along with Jere Lehtinen's eight points, drove Finland's offense.
But Finland played a team game through the tournament. They attacked teams in five-on-five situations, had supreme penalty killing and goaltending from Flyers netminder Antero Niittymaki, who was named tournament MVP for his 5-1-0 record, three shutouts and 1.34 goals-against average.
"I think it's going to be huge boost for (Niittymaki)," Selanne said. "In my mind, he was the best goalie in the tournament."
But the scoring, the penalty killing and the goaltending all seemed to break down at the most crucial time for the Finns. Five minor penalties in the second period sapped Finland's strength and momentum.
"I think we had very heavy legs today," Selanne said. "We didn't play our normal game. Our system needs a lot of energy."
The Finns opened the scoring, but went down 2-1 in the second period thanks to a pair of Swedish power-play goals. They equalized with five minutes to go in the middle period, but a lapse just 10 seconds into the third period proved to be their undoing when Nicklas Lidstrom beat Niittymaki with a blast from the top left circle.
Team USA was the only other team in the tournament to score more than two goals against the Finns. They did that in a 4-3 quarterfinal loss. In fact, the Finns allowed only seven goals in eight games.
"Today we didn't have our best game," defenseman Toni Lydman said. "We are very disappointed. Today we had three goals against. I don't know why. It's very hard now for me to analyze the game."
The Swedes turned the tables on the Finns and gave them a taste of their own medicine in terms of five-on-five game play. But the Finns looked fatigued as the game wore on. They didn't any odd-man chances, although Olli Jokinen was robbed by goalie Henrik Lundqvist in a final attempt at the end of the game.
"In the third period we created a few chances," Niklas Hagman said. "But they made the key saves."
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"We played a great tournament, but today we took one more goal than we had to. It's a pity, losing the final after such a tournament we played. We always won, at the end we only got a silver medal."
-- Jere Lehtinen (right, w/Saku Koivu)
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This silver medal feels like a tragedy. As the Swedes celebrated on the ice, television cameras here in Torino caught a glimpse of a Finnish fan, head down, weeping uncontrollably.
Was the fan weeping for his country, himself, or the fact that players like Selanne and Koivu may not get another shot at gold at Vancouver in 2010?
Selanne, who turns 36 in July, hinted on Friday that if Finland won gold, he might retire from international hockey. Koivu, who turns 32 later this year and Lehtinen who will go to 33, will have some decisions to make come 2010.
"I've played on some World Championship teams and the World Cup and this is the best team to play together," Jarkko Ruutu said.
Ruutu said the Finns were confident going into the game, especially on the heels of their 4-0 suffocation of a high-powered Russian club.
"We were down a goal today and we didn't panic," Ruutu said. "We stayed together."
The Finns stayed in it until the end with Jokinen's final chance near the buzzer, but it wasn't enough.
"We lost the game, that's it," Lehtinen said. "We played a great tournament, but today we took one more goal than we had to. It's a pity, losing the final after such a tournament we played. We always won, at the end we only got a silver medal."
The medal nobody considers a "win".
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