WJC Group B: Dec 28 GDT - Finland vs. Czech Republic (3-2)

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teme

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RARRRRR! Justice is served, I've rarely seen a team that badly outworked up two goals after first period. Brief recap, watched it on tele on tape delay (damn YLE, which is why you haven't seen any Finns posting here) you should get a better recap for someone at the game.

First period - Russian (?) ref was calling it thight, and Czechs in particular took stupid penalties. Still both goals came on even strength. First Olesz found a hole between Toivonen's stick side pad and post from zero angle. Then he either got lucky or did something truly spectacular, he was parked in front of the net with Jalasvaara massagin his back (horrible effort from Jalasvaara) and a weak shot came from point, he either fumbled a misdirection or stopped the puck, it came to his backhand and he tapped it over Toivonen's glove. Puck in the air and back to the goalie. :eek:
Apart from Olesz goals and some nice stickwork leading to partial breakaway by Fleischman, Finns pretty much owned the period. They were laying the body and outhustling extremely passive Czechs, but had trouble handling the puck.

Second - Finns put up more presure and Czechs were just lost, finally at the end of the period Töykkälä had a shot on two-on-one after penalty on Kantee ended, it hit a dman but Töykkälä and Salminen just pushed the puck at Swarstch (sp?), who dropped it. Dman came to mop it away at the same moment that the goalie put the glove on it and it went in.

Third - Czechs got a penalty at the end of second. Lepistö blasted to it to top glove hand corner (right in this case) with Bergenheim and Salminen masking the view. Who said he can't shoot. Finns kept the preasure, fourth line of Petrell-Piispanen-Nurmi was particullary noticeable with Piispanen doing Sundin like stunts (why can't this guy get time on PP?) However it came ended when Barinka was doing a Kenny Jönsson impresio n admiring his pass and Petrell just wasted him with a shoulder to head hit. Barinka broke his nose and Petrell got five min, harsh IMO, which Finns then killed. The winning goal came when Tukonen and Bergenheim just got the puck in front of the net and Filppula sweeped it in up close.

Of the Finns, Filppula, Lepistö, Immonen and Piispanen were the ones showing good puck control, rest of the forwards worked really hard too. Apart from Olesz, Fleischman stood out from the Czech team.
 

eh

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Teme: it was me who said Lepistö can't shoot. Actually I said he doesn't have a heavy shot, other than that, there's nothing wrong with it.

I regret that I didn't travel to Hämeenlinna to see this game: great game by the little lions, absolutely dominating the last two periods. The problem seems to be that they do not have enough skill to score the goals even when they are. Tommi Oksa was the best example: two or three open chances and yet he wasn't able to get as much as a shot on the goal. Some credit must be given to Schwarz who stopped everything he could. A very calm goalie with good size, quick reflexes and sound technique.

The Finns were helped by tight refereeing, but couldn't capitalize on the PP before the first shift of the third. They couldn't get the puck moving and wasted a lot of time wrestling in the corners. The powerplay, when they get in moving, seems to be too unimaginative. They also lack real threats from the blueline. I wish they would try to form a second special unit for the PP instead of stubbornly giving the ineffective second line endless chances. Kalteva-Piispanen-Immonen-Töykkälä-Nurmi/Nokelainen could be a very nice unit with two right handed shots, enough skill and a heavy shot on the blueline.

Lennart Petrell was mishandled in the third and limped to the bench. In the next shift it took him about three seconds to retaliate: he rolled over Barinka with a clean hit and was (unjustly) ejected. Two minutes for charging would've been enough and I'm not sure if was even that. Great hit! (edit: ok, after watching it once more: it was clearly a charging and, of course, completely unnecessary)
 
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teme

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eh, I wasn't accusing you of anything. I wished I was there too.

Oksa is the case in point, I love his hustle but the guy has no hands, he is a great fit on third line IMO. If we are going to go anywhere in this tournament, they need to: (a) keep that energy, (b) find the missing link to Filppula - Bergemheim unit, Tukonen wasn't bad but he is just not connecting, Nokelainen? Piispanen? Fully agree on PP (c), he is less than great without it but I do like what Piispanen can do with the puck and maybe Nokelainen can play point.
 
eh said:
Lennart Petrell was mishandled in the third and limped to the bench. In the next shift it took him about three seconds to retaliate: he rolled over Barinka with a clean hit and was (unjustly) ejected. Two minutes for charging would've been enough and I'm not sure if was even that. Great hit!
Petrell`s hit was stupid and dangerous and he had way too much speed on that tackle. The most stupid thing I´ve seen in a long time. Besides his personal pride almost cost his team the win.

There were nothing unjustly about Petrell`s ejection.
 

teme

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Oh and regarding the Petrell hit, as one poster in Jatkoaika put it to other asking for Petrell to be thrown off the games, what about that Stevens on Karya hit? Same story basicly, too much speed and late hit, guy with his head down, shoulder pad to head, ugly results. I don't know what to make of it myself, guys should have more respect for each other and there has to be some limit on how much speed you can pick up before hit, but you can't keep you head down like that and I don't like the he is bleading so it must be five practice (Bite the lip, as the fans yell.) I think I agree with DieHard about two for charcing, when we were complaining about TooToo doing the same things last year and not getting anything, we were told we are a bunch of wussies (but he is a midget so I guess it is OK then.)

Anyway, best of luck to Barinka, he has a concussion to go with the broken nose. Damn shame, he was playing well.
 

jj_fin

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2 min for charging? Impossible I think, if a player gets injured from a tackle that hit him to the head the refs have to give at least 5+20min to the guy who made the hit. Not 100% sure but I think that it goes like that.

Petrell did a Tootoo-style charging hit with huge speed and he hit Barinka's head...Petrell isn't a midget so ugly things can happen... a broken nose and a concussion here I suppose. Of course Barinka could've kept his head up. Still it was a stupid revenge. Petrell got ran over by Barinka (?, heh not 100% sure here either, I blame YLE) a bit earlier.

The Little Lions surprised me a lot here, they played a great game. Or at least that's what I saw from the YLE broadcast (yippee, let's not show the games live unlike we did last year Why can't they show these games live from the YLE24-channel or something, they did that in the U18 soccer WC's...I mean c'mon they showed games like Colombia-Senegal live there.)

Marjamäki and Nokelainen really impressed me, and Lepistö was great. Schwartz was very calm and saved everything that he could really. Barinka and Olesz were good also.
 

psycho_dad*

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Hossa said:
Finland, goaltending aside, can't compete with the Czechs in almost any area. They'll make it interesting and make the Czechs think, but that's about it.

Hehe.

Goaltending aside, Czechs could not compete in any area. Maybe you just had the names mixed?


Petrells hit was as criminal as Tootoo's 30 hits in last games...I really hate seeing that going on in hockey. If he should have hit anyone, it should have been a canadian and then we could re-discuss Tootoo's "heroic actions" and Petrell's "attempted homicide".

Much to my surprise, Finland has a chance in this tournament. They outplayed czechs, and did not do too bad against Canada either.
 

Stock Rocks

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Any comments on how Hannu Toivonen played?

I've heard he was weak on the 1st goal, but I'd be interested if there are any other different opinions?

Do the Bruins have a winner on their hands for the future?
 

teme

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Stock Rocks said:
Any comments on how Hannu Toivonen played?

I've heard he was weak on the 1st goal, but I'd be interested if there are any other different opinions?

Do the Bruins have a winner on their hands for the future?

I think he looks good. He wasn't really tested that much by Czechs. The first goal was his fault though, rookie mistake not closing the gap between post and pads. Happens to best of them.
 
teme said:
I think he looks good. He wasn't really tested that much by Czechs. The first goal was his fault though, rookie mistake not closing the gap between post and pads. Happens to best of them.
I don`t see how goalie that isn`t tested at all during the game and still gives a easy goal can be described as "looking good". Toivonen has been a dissapointment and it`s rather likely that Mikael Vuorio will be start-up goalie in next game.
 

Raimo Sillanpää

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SergeiK said:
I don`t see how goalie that isn`t tested at all during the game and still gives a easy goal can be described as "looking good". Toivonen has been a dissapointment and it`s rather likely that Mikael Vuorio will be start-up goalie in next game.

13 shots on goal by the Czechs in the first period, 2 fluke goals (1 unlucky).. how's that untested?

After that Hannu was a rock, and he actually had a defence in front of him (defence must take blame for the 2nd goal completely). Vuorio's only chance of getting a game is against someone like Ukraine, which Aravirta usually did in the senior men's team, so Vuorio will likely suit up for the next game, but that's nothing against Toivonen as he'll just be given the rest and Vuorio the "easy game"
 

Faaxinho

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About Petrells hit:
It was aimed at head. So it would have been 2+10 if the player wouldn't have been injured. If injured, ALWAYS 5+20. Also the rule says that if any part of body is used to hit head, it goes under that rule. Right call from the referee.

Ps. I am a referee, I would have gave the same penalty.
 
Raimo Sillanpää said:
13 shots on goal by the Czechs in the first period, 2 fluke goals (1 unlucky).. how's that untested?
Average saves, nothing special.

And calling Czech made goals fluke goals - particulary the second one. If a finn would have made such a goal, it would have been described as the goal of the century. But it`s understandable - no one in Team Finland is that talented with the puck as Rostislav Olesz. Luck has nothing to do with it. It`s talent all the way. I would like see Waltteri Filppula try that.

But I see where your opinions are. Toivonen is talented, but just unlucky and Rostislav Olesz is not talented, but just got lucky. Myself I like base my judgement on performance - not "what should have been".
 

teme

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Olesz first goal was indeed a great shot, but the fact he had a hole to shoot at in the first place was simply bad positioning by Toivonen, I've seen similar things happen to world class goalies. Bad break. His second, I doubt he planned to score it like that, it looked he fumbled a redirection and then took a swap at the puck, indeed a high skill move but somewhat lucky IMO. But noone is disputing Olesz talent.

In hockey best team wins, not the one with best puck skills. Junior Lions compensate for their talent shortage by hard work, and further more they try to control the game and not just sit back and hang for their lives, which the Czechs for some reason are content to do. I respect that, and they are fun to watch which you can't say of any Czech national team in recent memory.
 
teme said:
In hockey best team wins, not the one with best puck skills. Junior Lions compensate for their talent shortage by hard work, and further more they try to control the game and not just sit back and hang for their lives, which the Czechs for some reason are content to do. I respect that, and they are fun to watch which you can't say of any Czech national team in recent memory.
Yeah, but this tournament is more or less about young prospects as individuals. Can they prosper in NHL? Are they fast/strong/big/skilled enough to play that level? Good or bad team spirit doesn`t necessarily tell anything about a single players mental abilities or his presence in the locker-room.

Czech players are fun to watch because of their high skill level. I enjoy that. Of course I like to see teams that play with full heart (especially if that team happens to be Team Finland). Yesterdays game was just a marvelous game if think it as spectator sport.

I`m happy that my country won, but I don`t want to blinded by short sighted localism.
 

teme

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SergeiK said:
Yeah, but this tournament is more or less about young prospects as individuals. Can they prosper in NHL? Are they fast/strong/big/skilled enough to play that level? Good or bad team spirit doesn`t necessarily tell anything about a single players mental abilities or his presence in the locker-room.
Point taken, but I do watch the games to see the teams compete, it's not so much about where the players will be five years from now for me. I'm a fan not a scout, different perspectives I guess. That said, the futures aspect does interest me too.

Regarding Kalteva, one of the pleasant surprises AFAIK. He isn't that talented, but he is big, steady and throws his weight. OK skater, not totally clueless with the puck but I doubt he would be seeing PP time on any other team. Could roundup to be a nice physical defence first dman.
 
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