Goalie Controversy
Tuukka Rask (TOR) and Joonas Hallikainen struggled in the 2005 WJC, the first Finnish goalies to do so in ten years. Right after the tournament,
Karri Rämö (TB) began his breakout and started the battle for the starter's spot that still goes on. Rämö had the perfect start to his SM-Liiga season but has been the only goalie to post disappointing stats with the national team. Conversely, Rask excelled against the lesser competition with the Lion Cubs, but his professional games with Ilves were turbulent. Things changed when Rämö was sidelined for a month with a knee injury and his performance returned to a less consistent normalcy upon his return. Rask in turn got his game going and has recently played the best professional hockey so far in his short career.
The competition was at even odds when the goalies began their camp with the team. Finland faced the best offensive club teams of the semi-pro league in mid-December: First Jukurit fought their way to a 6-6 tie against Rämö (34/40) but Salamat were defeated in front of Rask (27/29). This gave Rask the pole position in the race, the outcome of which can be decided in the pre-tournament games. Finland has only one good opportunity to offer: on the 21st they faced Latvia and as expected, Rämö (8/9) didn't get a chance to really prove his quality. The obvious plan seems to be that Rask gets to face Slovakia on the 23rd, and if he plays well, there is nothing Rämö can do to begin the tournament as the starter. Rämö is still likely to get to start a tough game in the tournament, though, and that could change things.
Rask is a butterfly goalie as fast as lightning and has superb game-breaking ability. However, his stamina is lacking and that has led to serious inconsistency. Last spring he had a fantastic playoff run with Ilves Jr A, so if he manages to prepare for the WJC properly, he can handle the entire tournament. Rämö is not completely different from Rask, a butterfly even slightly bigger than the younger netminder, but plays a more conventional style. He has also proven able to take large barrages of shots and rebound from the defense completely letting him down. Either of the two is good to have when the goalie has to win Finland the game.
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