Finland 4, USA 3 FINAL

Finland survives. Game over.

YEAHHH FINLAND!!!! :yo:

Finland wins!!!!

USA is playing SUPER in this third period despite all their penalties. They deserved to win the game, but niitymaki stoned them several times.

Sad to see USA go home :cry:

USA goes home....I advance in the pool. LOL

Nitty won the game for us today! YEEESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

Exciting game, at least.

tough break usa - well done chris chelios - a true warrior

Good game Finland. Way to finish it under enormous pressure.

What happened to Modano??

Appeared to have pulled something in the game against Russia. Didn't play more than a minute in the 3rd today.

Oh man, this is gonna be a great finish.

Why couldn't they play like this the first 55 minutes?

LOL u think u guys are so superior like in last 5 minutes? Comon its just tactic to only defend the lead :D

Congrats to the Team Finland. Your boys had a better tournament than ours and deserve to advance.

Good luck in your next game.

Damn. I was hoping for at least OT.

Finns hang on for 4-3 victory, didn't look as crisp as they did in group play, they'll have to step it up if they want to win semifinal.

I can't believe Finland didn't drop the game in the 3rd! :D

Congrats Finland...good luck against Canada/Russia.

:biglaugh: Oh, you were serious?
You are wrong, someone posted the IIHF rules, could you be any more clueless? :propeller

GO Russia! My newest favorite hockey unit thingy

Congrats to Finland.

What a tourney for the U.S. They have bested or equaled hockey's elite in every game, yet lost 4 of the 6 and only won once. Definitely not our year.

I loved the effort down the stretch, but I'm disappointed as a whole.

It took Laviolette 5 and 3/4 games to put Drury with Gionta, and we didn't have a great chance until the end of the third...

Finland played well. If only Team USA played as well in the second and first periods as they did in the third.

Alas, like the Slovakia, Sweden, and Russia game, it was not to be.

2010 will be a fun year, though.

Now to watch Canada lose...

I want the underdog-status back, we play like a **** when we're a contender!!!:rant:

:banana: :banana: :banana:

FINLAND

:bow: Niittymäki
:bow: Mertaranra

Back to the drawing board see ya in four years..... :clap:

Pheeeeeeeeew! Now I know how I´ll die. 2030 olympics, Finland-Sweden quarterfinals, Sven Svensson reduces to 1-2 at 56.44........

That is the last game the finns win in this tournament.

The Finns sure are lucky that USA is so undisciplin.

i'm glad antero is on the flyers, he played an amazing game--we just didnt have it, hopefully some younger, quicker talent develops in the next four years, i knew we didnt have much of a chance going in, but still managed to be in the game vs. slovaks, swedes, russia, and finland today

I just dunno...maybe you maybe bit dummier than others...youre comedy-series also are very crap...they aren`t funny at all.
Huh?

It wasn't just about this game. It seems to be general attitude here. Well, I'm new here, so what do I know, maybe that's the way around here.

:clap: Finland!

Great job! :bow:

We're a notch below latvia without Selänne, so it doesn't really matter, we could just as well lost.

That is the last game the finns win in this tournament.

We will see ;)

Finland won, but didn't impress me like they did in group play. They will have to step it up if they want to win semifinal game.

Good tournament for USA, if disappointing result. They were competitive in every game, and proved they are one of the big 7 international teams.

I still think best hockey is yet to come, and expect the winners of the two late games to meet in the final.

Congrats Finland...good luck against Canada/Russia.

Will Finland not play against the winner of Czechoslovakia/Slovakia?

Gotta feel for Canuck's fans tonight.

Jovo was already going to miss some time and because of the Olympics they're going to be without their two best defenseman. Congratulations to the Finns, I hope you play better in the next round though. This was not the same group effort that got them here.

Congrats to Finland.

What a tourney for the U.S. They have bested or equaled hockey's elite in every game, yet lost 4 of the 6 and only won once. Definitely not our year.
The personality of this club reflected its play. Most of the players on this team were either good (not great) or past their prime (read: recently lost their ability to finish). Drury was the only truly clutch player on the team this year. Oh well, at least the future looks relatively bright.

Tkachuk's stupid penalties, the ******** high stick on Hatcher, Gomez doing something stupid. We killed ourselves in this game. Two cheap goals on DiPietro and like acr said, it took way too long to put Drury with some finishers. Drury and Cole were our best two players in a majority of our games. Props to Chelios for selling out today.

That said, Finland's 6-0 for a reason. They looked good, though not invincible.

congrats to Team Niittymäki!

Great performance!

Horrible performance by team finland. you threw it away. Team Antero Niittymäki saved the day.

Canadian referee was horrible, a disgrace really. But even with him as the 6th american the USA coudn't score!

Olli Jokinen, Aki Berg - excellent games
Ville Nieminen - monster of a game. Erkka is an idiot to bench you for creating chaos against the americans because of sheer strenght.

Erkka - you sir are an idiot. The team plays like **** and you do nothing. One player playes great, probably greatest shift of anybody in the entire game, and instead of drawing 2 penalties the ref is blind and penalises him, so you bench him. *** is wrong with you Erkka?

top lines without Teemu?


Olli - Saku - Jere?
Jussi - Mikko - Ville?

I hope the Finns stop complaining about officiating after this one.
Try to understand it isn't this simple:

Finnish getting penalties -> officiating is favouring US
or vice versa.

It is how some go uncalled and then the oddest things get called. This has applied to both teams. At least, this is how I think, don't know about others.

Appeared to have pulled something in the game against Russia. Didn't play more than a minute in the 3rd today.

I had no idea. Is it bad? Hate to see it effect the Stars, I've been watching and very much enjoying them all season.

We're gonna get *** kicked on Friday against Russia/Canada.

Whats with Selanne, did he just leave the game, or is it a foregone conclusion that he's out of the tourny?

Damed penaltys. Its so frustrating to continuosly watch USA lose with such an effort. Some things i noticed for team USA in this tourny:
-Modano who i feel needed to be our best player was one of our worst, i did hear though that he was injured is this true?
-Tkachuk was good all tourny, although i didnt see the first two periods of the Finnish game, where i hear he wasnt
-Cole was our best player in this tourny, considering defensive and offensive play
-Not having any discipline killed us.
-Blake should have gotten more playing time

Lets hope for 2010, we got alot of good guys coming up, so i expect us to look totaly different

Canadian referee was horrible, a disgrace really. But even with him as the 6th american the USA coudn't score!



You have got to be kidding me. If anything they were in the finns favor.

Ville Nieminen - monster of a game. Erkka is an idiot to bench you for creating chaos against the americans because of sheer strenght.

Erkka - you sir are an idiot. The team plays like **** and you do nothing. One player playes great, probably greatest shift of anybody in the entire game, and instead of drawing 2 penalties the ref is blind and penalises him, so you bench him. *** is wrong with you Erkka?Nieminen took some stupid, brainfart -type penalties. Absolutely no excuse for that. Yes, Nemo played well in that shift, and then went overboard. Deserved penalties and good reason for benching him, you've got to keep your cool.

A lot of stupid penalties by both teams. Gomez pro'ly topping it off shooting the puck at the ref.

congrats to Team Niittymäki!

Great performance!

Horrible performance by team finland. you threw it away. Team Antero Niittymäki saved the day.

Canadian referee was horrible, a disgrace really. But even with him as the 6th american the USA coudn't score!
Olli Jokinen, Aki Berg - excellent games
Ville Nieminen - monster of a game. Erkka is an idiot to bench you for creating chaos against the americans because of sheer strenght.

Erkka - you sir are an idiot. The team plays like **** and you do nothing. One player playes great, probably greatest shift of anybody in the entire game, and instead of drawing 2 penalties the ref is blind and penalises him, so you bench him. *** is wrong with you Erkka?

Please tell me your joking without his crap calls you wouldn't have two 5 on 3's which led to your lead. Slovak lineman :shakehead Following through on a shot is a 4 min penalty?

Canadian referee was horrible, a disgrace really. But even with him as the 6th american the USA coudn't score!


Cut the c**p already! I agree that the ref was terrible but USA was hurt by refereeing just as much as Finland.

I just hope Canada loses now...I don't wanna hear it from their fans for the next 4 years if they win again...

Back to NHL talk now...HAL GILL SUCKS FIRE MIKE SULLIVAN!111!oneone!11

top lines without Teemu?


Olli - Saku - Jere?
Jussi - Mikko - Ville?

Why are you posting this? Did Teemu suffer a tournament-ending injury? I didn't see it, only the highsticking incident.

Why are you posting this? Did Teemu suffer a tournament-ending injury? I didn't see it, only the highsticking incident.
I didn't see the game, so I don't know O_o just thought so since there was no word about him here...

Whats with Selanne, did he just leave the game, or is it a foregone conclusion that he's out of the tourny?

Teemu's OK. Nothing more than a swollen lip.

tough break usa - well done chris chelios - a true warrior

Ya, I was skeptical about his selection but he was very good.

Good showing for the U.S., good win for Finland, perfect at 6-0.

Gomez needs to mature.

Cut the c**p already! I agree that the ref was terrible but USA was hurt by refereeing just as much as Finland.
:clap:

Whats with Selanne, did he just leave the game, or is it a foregone conclusion that he's out of the tourny?

He came right back in the game.

Teemu's OK. Nothing more than a swollen lip.

Hmm, so both of his lips will be the size of watermelons now, huh.

Well thats good news, hate to see guys like Ohlund going down with injuries.

Finnish fans,don't always be so self critical, give this team some credit. This wasn't Niittymäki "saving" us in any way, this was the same solid team performance that we saw from Finland in the World Cup. :handclap:

It wasn't beautiful ice hockey tonight, but that's not so easy when the refs are giving penalties for everything. It's the victory that matters. This team has a good game plan, the confidence and Finland can very well beat CAN/RUS in the semi finals.

Why are you posting this? Did Teemu suffer a tournament-ending injury? I didn't see it, only the highsticking incident.

In interwiev he talked about loosin few tooths, but not about not playing at friday.

You are wrong, someone posted the IIHF rules, could you be any more clueless? :propeller

Careful throwing words like "clueless" around, when *you're* the one who mis-read a post. :sarcasm: I didn't quote you on the rule part, because I happen to know the rule.

I quoted you on the apologise part. People almost *never* admit that they were wrong. As proven by the couple of dozen folks who attacked the ref and linesmen on the call, and their total silence when the actual rule as posted.

Finland was VERY weak in third period, lucky that USA didnt make more than 1 goal.

Selänne should be able to play the semi-final. Unfortunately he was touched by the stick of the US-player at the mouth, but it's not a serious injury I think. I'm still the opinion the US player didn't want it, he was in puck posession and giving a pass to his teammate. I think he even hasn't seen Selänne. It was just bad luck of Selänne.

Oh boy. Why do the finns have the be so afraid about winning? Really, they were so passive, very nervous, and totally out of the game for too much in this game. Really, the game could've been much easier for the team, without that beginner type of nerve.

Glad we got Niittymäki, he played the win for us, when the skaters couldn't. 3rd period was so clear, there was only Team USA and Team Antero Niittymäki on ice.

A lot has to be done in just one day, if Finland has set their goal to the gold. A lot.

And for the Italian hotels sake, let them US team players get wasted already in the lockerroom... they'd be leveled before reaching the hotel. :D

Wohoooooo, WIN!!! :handclap:

But what the hell happened? Such a poor game from us today, third period was horrible. Must admit that you can`t count Team USA out, they will allways fight to the end. :clap:

The US lost against the upcoming olympic champion. Take some comfort from that and RUS wiping CAN of the ice with something like 8:2 ;)

Selänne sounded like an old wino in the postgame interview and said that probably couple teeth gone but that it doesn't matter as long as the team won. Ville Peltonen still has a nicer smile almost Peter Beardsley like.

Finnish fans,don't always be so self critical, give this team some credit. This wasn't Niittymäki "saving" us in any way, this was the same solid team performance that we saw from Finland in the World Cup. :handclap:

It wasn't beautiful ice hockey tonight, but that's not so easy when the refs are giving penalties for everything. It's the victory that matters. This team has a good game plan, the confidence and Finland can very well beat CAN/RUS in the semi finals.
It was all Team USA vs. Niittymäki in the 3rd. The US were dominating even on PK.

Nice effort by USA in the end but it just wasn't enough this time.

Any news on Salo? Did he get hurt badly?

Oh boy. Why do the finns have the be so afraid about winning? Really, they were so passive, very nervous, and totally out of the game for too much in this game. Really, the game could've been much easier for the team, without that beginner type of nerve.


That's not true, I think the truth is that you were nervous watching the game, not our team! We used to be nervous about winning, but that's history now.

Any news on Salo? Did he get hurt badly?
Didn't play at all in the 3rd.

Oh boy. Why do the finns have the be so afraid about winning? Really, they were so passive, very nervous, and totally out of the game for too much in this game. Really, the game could've been much easier for the team, without that beginner type of nerve.



You realize, that "poor" play by the Finns might just have something to do with good play by the U.S. ;) A team facing elimination is not going to go down quietly.

It was all Team USA vs. Niittymäki in the 3rd. The US were dominating even on PK.
Desperation will do that for you. My fav Finns Lydman and Teppo with big games. Teppo can tease Drury when they get back that he caught him :eek:

Can anybody explain me the rules? There was no intention to injure Selänne, it was an accident, but is it automatically a penalty if the oppenent player get injured? I'm cheering for the Finns but this penalty was not justified I think.
IIHF Hockey Rules:

"530 High Sticking
Carrying sticks above the normal height of the shoulders is prohibited and any player violating this rule shall be assessed, at the discretion of the Referee, a:
- Minor penalty (2)

or

- Major penalty + Automatic Game Misconduct penalty (5+GM)

A player who carries or holds any part of his stick above the height of the shoulders and causes an injury with the stick to an opposing player shall be assessed:
- Major penalty + Automatic Game Misconduct penalty (5+GM)

However, if the high sticking actoin that caused the injury was judged accidental, the offending player shall be assessed a:
- Double Minor penalty (2+2)"

Hatcher threw up the stick in Selänne's face and got a high sticking causing an injury. However, since it was accidental, he only got 2+2. The ref made the right call.

congrats to Team Niittymäki!

Great performance!

Horrible performance by team finland. you threw it away. Team Antero Niittymäki saved the day.

Canadian referee was horrible, a disgrace really. But even with him as the 6th american the USA coudn't score!

Olli Jokinen, Aki Berg - excellent games
Ville Nieminen - monster of a game. Erkka is an idiot to bench you for creating chaos against the americans because of sheer strenght.

Erkka - you sir are an idiot. The team plays like **** and you do nothing. One player playes great, probably greatest shift of anybody in the entire game, and instead of drawing 2 penalties the ref is blind and penalises him, so you bench him. *** is wrong with you Erkka?



Wow! we have dumb chicks in the US to you can hang out with!

I heard that to consolate Team USA, USA Hockey will name Chris Chelios the captain of Team USA in Vancouver 2010. :sarcasm:

Seriously, get rid of those oldies already!

.

And for the Italian hotels sake, let them US team players get wasted already in the lockerroom... they'd be leveled before reaching the hotel. :D

You know it. We are not an elegant people, not in victory, and most certainly not in defeat. Don't hate us for it, just give us some space to sleep it off after we drown our sorrows in cheap wine.

Drury was the only truly clutch player on the team this year.

Sorry, but I'm so sick of hearing about this. Drury hasn't had a "clutch" goal in years.

I was hoping he was awarded a penalty shot on Teppo's trip. Would have been a proverbial nail in the coffin to have him dust it three feet wide.

Finland should won bronze atleast...they really deserve it, though we got panic in 3rd period!

It was all Team USA vs. Niittymäki in the 3rd. The US were dominating even on PK.

Well, a game usually looks like that when you have a team going in to a 3d period with a 2-goal lead. Typical for successful Czech teams for many years, and now Finland too has learned this way of controlling a lead, which often makes a team look shaky (also, we don't lose our nerves anymore like we did in the past).

That's not true, I think the truth is that you were nervous watching the game, not our team! We used to be nervous about winning, but that's history now.
I disagree strongly. How many times did the distance between forecheck and players on our own blueline grow so big, the US had it overmanned? Not to mention, how open the borders were? Then, trying to play that offence out, our guys rush in with 2, and one short pass, the attack from US is even more dangerous. And not to mention, the passes wich never had any target, but the US. Nor should we forget, how easy it was for the US, to deliver to puck to the net, and even then there was only Niittymäki to save it...

Honestly, finns were way too passive, and way too nervous.
You realize, that "poor" play by the Finns might just have something to do with good play by the U.S. ;) A team facing elimination is not going to go down quietly.
Naturally I do understand that. But, from what I can honestly expect from finnish team, they didn't have everything with them on the ice. They seemed very nervous, and when you're nervous, the opposing team easily discovers it and takes advantage from it. Exactly the case today.

Only Niittymäki on hockey rules (game time is 3x20 minutes, unless tied.) saves us today. But there's nothing to complain about. ;)

A win is a win, and I'll take it! GG finns, gg USA. :clap:

The personality of this club reflected its play. Most of the players on this team were either good (not great) or past their prime (read: recently lost their ability to finish). Drury was the only truly clutch player on the team this year. Oh well, at least the future looks relatively bright.

More clutch then Gionta? I don't think so.

Teppo can tease Drury when they get back that he caught him :eek:

A tweaked hammy will beat a tender groin any day. :D They both deserve a lot of credit for showing up and playing while they really could have used the time off.

[QUOTE=Chimp]IIHF Hockey Rules:

"530 High Sticking
Carrying sticks above the normal height of the shoulders is prohibited and any player violating this rule shall be assessed, at the discretion of the Referee, a:
- Minor penalty (2)
QUOTE]

Only he wasn't carrying the stick. He shot the puck, every follow-through ends up above shoulder height.

The call was wrong.
And Devorski was horrible. HORRIBLE.

Even worse, Marouelli wasn't calling a lot of stuff in the eariler quarterfinal.
If that's a glimpse of the NHL playoffs, the league is gonna be in chaos as to what's a penalty and what isn't.

My opinion on the game and the Finnish team:

Goaltending - Niittymäki was solid. Nothing spectacular, but got the job done. DiPietro was shaky and not at his best. None of those goals were completely his fault, but goaltending in general was a big factor in this game

1st line - Completely lost and I think I know the reason. Saku had definitely mentally overcharged himself to the game. His timing was terrible and passing was far from crisp and accurate. Those penalties were quite clear, maybe the 3rd was borderline but for a captain this kind of performance is unacceptable. Saku is the brains in that line and him out of his normal self makes the whole line pretty much useless.

2nd line - Excellent game. Peltonen really stepped up big time and carried that line on his back. They need to keep this up.

3rd and 4th line - Nice hustle here and there, but Nemo's 2 penalties really killed the momentum from our checking game. Third period was horrible, but so was the whole team. Both N. Kapanen and M. Koivu lost countless face-offs when it mattered the most.

D - Decent at best. Salo was a stud out there until his injury and Berg continued his safe and solid play. Nummelin and Timonen were both outmuscled, but Nummelin atleast made up for it by giving some good outlet passes. Lydman was suprsingly shaky, again (I have to say the same about Numminen) . Overrall, way too many bad passes and turnovers.

The FIN were lucky they won because apart from the 1st period, Team US outplayed and outworked us by a considerable margin. The 3rd period as a whole was absolutely pathetic. If we don't improve our game we're sure fire 4th place. And that would suck.

Congrats to our Finnish fans!
Now go beat Canada, if they win, so we don't have them rubbing it in our faces.

Now on to some grades for the tournament...

A- Chelios
B Tkachuk (just couldnt finish)
B+ DiPietro (aside from the Finland game, Rick was great. Much better than I expected. I'm just glad Miller wasn't there because I don't think he could have helped this team any more than DiPietro did.)
A Cole (threw the body around, used his speed to beat several defenders to teh net.

I'll let y'all take the rest of 'em.

Only he wasn't carrying the stick. He shot the puck, every follow-through ends up above shoulder height.

The call was wrong.
And Devorski was horrible. HORRIBLE.

Even worse, Marouelli wasn't calling a lot of stuff in the eariler quarterfinal.
If that's a glimpse of the NHL playoffs, the league is gonna be in chaos as to what's a penalty and what isn't.
Ok, here we go again. Please show me the rule that says anything about "ignore the accidental high sticking causing an injury, if it is accidental while making a pass." Show me this exception rule and I will give you right and the ref was wrong.

I can give you a hint: There is no such rule, at least not in international hockey. You are always responsible for your stick and where it ends up, even if it's accidental.

Nummelin and Timonen were both outmuscled, but Nummelin atleast made up for it by giving some good outlet passes. Lydman was suprsingly shaky, again (I have to say the same about Numminen) . Overrall, way too many bad passes and turnovers.



I met Pteri, and saw him play for a season here in Columbus, Ohio 4 or 5 years ago. Overall, he has been good this tournament, and I'm suprised how well his game has improved in 5 years.

Saku --> 3 penalties --> 3 US goals. Just bad luck?

IIHF Hockey Rules:

"530 High Sticking
Carrying sticks above the normal height of the shoulders is prohibited and any player violating this rule shall be assessed, at the discretion of the Referee, a:
- Minor penalty (2)

or

- Major penalty + Automatic Game Misconduct penalty (5+GM)

A player who carries or holds any part of his stick above the height of the shoulders and causes an injury with the stick to an opposing player shall be assessed:
- Major penalty + Automatic Game Misconduct penalty (5+GM)

However, if the high sticking actoin that caused the injury was judged accidental, the offending player shall be assessed a:
- Double Minor penalty (2+2)"

Hatcher threw up the stick in Selänne's face and got a high sticking causing an injury. However, since it was accidental, he only got 2+2. The ref made the right call.
The problem is Selanne was so low Hatcher's stick didn't even go above his waist. Weak call, still.


As for Drury not being clutch, he drew that penalty and made the play for USA's 3rd goal. If anyone was, he was.

[QUOTE=Chimp]IIHF Hockey Rules:

"530 High Sticking
Carrying sticks above the normal height of the shoulders is prohibited and any player violating this rule shall be assessed, at the discretion of the Referee, a:
- Minor penalty (2)
QUOTE]

Only he wasn't carrying the stick. He shot the puck, every follow-through ends up above shoulder height.

The call was wrong.
And Devorski was horrible. HORRIBLE.

Even worse, Marouelli wasn't calling a lot of stuff in the eariler quarterfinal.
If that's a glimpse of the NHL playoffs, the league is gonna be in chaos as to what's a penalty and what isn't.

You are responsible for you stick at all times, no exceptions.

No where in what you have posted does it say high sticking is not an offense if it occurs as part of the act of shooting or passing. If your stick goes high and hits someone in the face, you are getting penalty, no matter what you were doing when the stick went high.

IMO, there is no question that it was not intentional, but that does not matter.

B Tkachuk (just couldnt finish)


That's way too kind. The guy logged heavy ice time and spent way too much of it putting his team down a man while contributing nothing offensively. I'd say he was one of the biggest dissapointments for the US in pretty much every aspect of the game.

Ok, here we go again. Please show me the rule that says anything about "ignore the accidental high sticking causing an injury, if it is accidental while making a pass." Show me this exception rule and I will give you right and the ref was wrong.

I can give you a hint: There is no such rule, at least not in international hockey. You are always responsible for your stick and where it ends up, even if it's accidental.

Actually, that is not true. You are not 'always' responsible. The way the rule reads, you are responsible for keeping your stick below shoulder height. Any contact above normal shoulder height is deemed highsticking. The key word reiterated in the IIHF rulebook is 'normal shoulder' height. The determining factor on whether or not it was a high stick rests with on what plane did it make contact with Teemu? I did not see the incident, only heard it on the radio. So I cannot comment on its application here. But I can say, using as you have the IIHF rulebook, that your post is not correct.

That's way too kind. The guy logged heavy ice time and spent way too much of it putting his team down a man while contributing nothing offensively. I'd say he was one of the biggest dissapointments for the US in pretty much every aspect of the game.

You may be right.
I simply like guys who play tough especially in front of the net. I admire that. And I've never liked Keith much.
He did take some lousy penalties though.

I'd say he was one of the biggest dissapointments for the US in pretty much every aspect of the game.

When was the last time Tkachuk impressed for Team USA?

Finnish coach wants more goals from Olli Jokinen and the whole 2nd line. (J.Jokinen and Peltonen) I agree, we need goals from others too. Can the 1st line fly in every game?

1st line wasn't flying but we were lucky that 2nd line stood out like the coach wanted. Whooh it was a thriller at the end but it's so nice to be a winner at the end. USA was good and didn't let the Finns fly with the speed.

Finns game have to improve a lot to the next game if we wan't to have a chance to the final.

Friday's game I'm going to see at the bar...I can't handle the excitement sober :D

Selänne lost 2 teeth. What is Salo's condition?

B Tkachuk (just couldnt finish)
You give him a B?!?!?!

He had ZERO GOALS and ZERO ASSISTS in six games. In the elimination game against Finland where they needed him most, he gets ONE SHOT on net.

Then in the elimination game, he takes two lazy hooking penalties in the second period - leading him to get BENCHED. He gets ONE shift in the third period - and promptly takes ANOTHER lazy hooking penalty, which leads to him getting benched for the rest of the game.

At least in Nagano, he left the stupid behavior in the dorms. Here he took his criminal behavior to the ice in an elimination game. I hope customs confiscates his passport when he tries to re-enter the country. Tkachuk gets an F.

Otherwise, I agree with your assessment of Cole, Chelios, and DiPietro. Also give B or B+ marks to Rolston, Conroy, Gionta, and pretty much the entire d-corps.

Except maybe Derian Hatcher. He gets knocked down to a C after that boneheaded play on Jokinen's first goal. "Gee, my fingers are cold. I better go get my glove..."

As for Drury not being clutch, he drew that penalty and made the play for USA's 3rd goal. If anyone was, he was.

Have the standards for clutch play become so low that 'clutch' is now defined, of course through the eyes of Sabres fans in defending their 'own,' by setting up a goal when down by 2?

Clutch would mean actually scoring the go-ahead goal vs. SWE instead of giving it up. Or, tying the game today. If that happened, then scoring the GWG. None of which happened.

Sorry folks, there was NO clutch offensive play for USA in this tourney. Jokinen made the clutch play for FIN...

The reffing was horrible, but it went both ways.. The Finns could have closed the game earlier if the ref hadn't let the US back into the game with two very questionable calls that resulted in two US powerplay goals.. It made me mad to see Finland freeze completely in the final 15 minutes, we just don't know how to play with a lead.. Nitty was great, hope Teemu and Sami Salo are ok..

The reffing was horrible, but it went both ways.. The Finns could have closed the game earlier if the ref hadn't let the US back into the game with two very questionable calls that resulted in two US powerplay goals.. It made me mad to see Finland freeze completely in the final 15 minutes, we just don't know how to play with a lead.. Nitty was great, hope Teemu and Sami Salo are ok..

Stop with this ref bashing. As you said he didn´t have a best possible game, but it hurt both teams. We won and that is all that matters!

Reffing was horrible but went both ways.

Good: Finland advances

bad: the way Finland played

[QUOTE=Chimp]IIHF Hockey Rules:

"530 High Sticking
Carrying sticks above the normal height of the shoulders is prohibited and any player violating this rule shall be assessed, at the discretion of the Referee, a:
- Minor penalty (2)
QUOTE]

Only he wasn't carrying the stick. He shot the puck, every follow-through ends up above shoulder height.

The call was wrong.
And Devorski was horrible. HORRIBLE.

Even worse, Marouelli wasn't calling a lot of stuff in the eariler quarterfinal.
If that's a glimpse of the NHL playoffs, the league is gonna be in chaos as to what's a penalty and what isn't.

There is no discussion about this. If a stick higher than the shoulder causes an injury it is automatically called. Happens all the time and very consistently. Not in the NHL but in Europe it is called.

Pheeeeeeeeew! Now I know how I´ll die. 2030 olympics, Finland-Sweden quarterfinals, Sven Svensson reduces to 1-2 at 56.44........
My thoughts exactly.

My opinion on the game and the Finnish team:

Goaltending - Niittymäki was solid. Nothing spectacular, but got the job done. DiPietro was shaky and not at his best. None of those goals were completely his fault, but goaltending in general was a big factor in this game

1st line - Completely lost and I think I know the reason. Saku had definitely mentally overcharged himself to the game. His timing was terrible and passing was far from crisp and accurate. Those penalties were quite clear, maybe the 3rd was borderline but for a captain this kind of performance is unacceptable. Saku is the brains in that line and him out of his normal self makes the whole line pretty much useless.

2nd line - Excellent game. Peltonen really stepped up big time and carried that line on his back. They need to keep this up.

3rd and 4th line - Nice hustle here and there, but Nemo's 2 penalties really killed the momentum from our checking game. Third period was horrible, but so was the whole team. Both N. Kapanen and M. Koivu lost countless face-offs when it mattered the most.

D - Decent at best. Salo was a stud out there until his injury and Berg continued his safe and solid play. Nummelin and Timonen were both outmuscled, but Nummelin atleast made up for it by giving some good outlet passes. Lydman was suprsingly shaky, again (I have to say the same about Numminen) . Overrall, way too many bad passes and turnovers.

The FIN were lucky they won because apart from the 1st period, Team US outplayed and outworked us by a considerable margin. The 3rd period as a whole was absolutely pathetic. If we don't improve our game we're sure fire 4th place. And that would suck.

Good post, I couldn't agree more.

Let's face it, team Finland was lucky to win today.

This was by far our worst game so far. US deserves some credit also, to be honest you guys would have earned atleast a tie, that third period was pure dominance from your part, even when you were playing shorthanded. You could just feel that panic crawling into the minds of some of the finnish players yet again :shakehead . We tried to defend a two goal lead the entire 3rd period thinking we were team Sweden or something. What a painful game to watch at the end.

I hope this was the "bad game" of the tournament for us. Niitty was good though, little shaky at first but in the end he saved our bacon in this one. :clap:

I take back all the nasty things I said about Devorski, both teams had questionable penalties called. I was simply caught by the emotions thanks to our commentator Mertaranta. BTW I love how Devorski signals the 2 minute minor penalty :yo:

When was the last time Tkachuk impressed for Team USA?


Oh, I don't know....the 1996 World Cup, the 2002 Olympics, the 2004 World Cup. Tkachuk has played very well internationally for the U.S. and doesn't deserve the flack he's getting here. He was snakebitten, but he did alot of the yeoman's work that doesn't show up on the scoresheet.

I hope this was the "bad game" of the tournament for us. Niitty was good though, little shaky at first but in the end he saved our bacon in this one.

Yeah, the obligatory bad game... I'd say Nitty was solid throughout the game, not much he could have done with any of the goals.

But seriously, what is the major malfunction in the coaching staff? The team totally fell asleep in the third. And if I remember right that wasn't the first time that happened while Westerlund has been at the helm. It's been bad before but not this bad.

I thought keeping the team awake is part of the job as a coach?

What happened to Modano??

does anybody have something new ? :dunno: :cry:

I am not feeling well so I am not going to read the whole thread. So I apologize if some of these what I'm about to say has been said before.

I wasn't convinced at all. Team Finland played good at the start of the game but as the game progressed Team Finlands level of play declined. That's a bad sign. Only Niittymäki, Numminen and Nummelin played well the whole match. Although Niittymäki didn't play as good as I expected. He should have saved Schneider's goal. It was a good and hard shot but I think it was without a mask and wasn't as accurate is it could have been. Anyway, I kinda felt the panic Team Finland had during the third period. Still, a win is a win even if it wasn't a good win. Let's hope that Team Finland can rise from it's knees and stand up for the next challenge.

[bad joke]Damn this "bird flu" I have. My head is killing me at the moment. :cry: On the other hand, quack, this might make me a Ducks fan.[/bad joke]

Yeah, the obligatory bad game... I'd say Nitty was solid throughout the game, not much he could have done with any of the goals.

But seriously, what is the major malfunction in the coaching staff? The team totally fell asleep in the third. And if I remember right that wasn't the first time that happened while Westerlund has been at the helm. It's been bad before but not this bad.

I thought keeping the team awake is part of the job as a coach?

Heh, I know what your saying, the whole tournament I haven't been able to understand how a team coached by Westerlund could play that good.

Today was "good old" Erkka coaching :) , where was the timeout we needed so badly towards the end :dunno:

He's a brilliant assistant coach, but quite frankly not competent as a head-coach.

We need someone to kick their *** when their playing like they did today in the 3rd period. I want Summanen back :cry:

Congrats to Finland on the win and want to wish their team continued success. :clap:

IMO they deserved it alot more than our boys did. I didn't get to see the whole game, but what I did see of it, I was very disappointed inTeam USA's undisciplined play and their inability to capitalize on their opportunities. I thought Nittymaki played quite well and hope that Sami Salo will be ok and won't be out for too long.

P. S. Will some PLEASE tell JD that Laaksonen went to the University of Denver NOT Denver University! :madfire:

My thoughts exactly.

same here.. When I turn 60 I have to stop watching these games..

Wow, that was an exciting game!

Kudos to USA for playing hard until the end, they showed a lot of heart. They came close but this was not their day.

Finns played a bad game IMO, I was cursing pretty much the whole game for their soft and nervous effort. Pressure was there, but like I've said before, Nitty seems to have the same ice water in his veins as Kipper.

Good games from O. Jokinen, Nitty and surprisingly Aki was one of our best dmen again.

Congrats to Finland on the win and want to wish their team continued success. :clap:

IMO they deserved it alot more than our boys did. I didn't get to see the whole game, but what I did see of it, I was very disappointed inTeam USA's undisciplined play and their inability to capitalize on their opportunities. I thought Nittymaki played quite well and hope that Sami Salo will be ok and won't be out for too long.

P. S. Will some PLEASE tell JD that Laaksonen went to the University of Denver NOT Denver University! :madfire:

While they are at it maybe they could tell JD to retire and never come back to broadcasting under any circumstances.

Just heard on CBC... Modano has no injury, he was benched.
Said in the press conference USA hockey needs to change and it has to start at the top.

huhm

Finns played a bad game IMO, I was cursing pretty much the whole game for their soft and nervous effort.

Same here.

We were outplayed when US played PK in the 3rd.
I ncouldn't believe my eyes this was the same team
I was watching during the last weekend. Still have
difficulties believing that we actually advanced.

But positive thinking takes over and let's say that
was as close as we come to losing in these games :handclap:

The Finns should not be bashing their team after this game. They beat a desparate US team that has a lot of talent, although it hasn't always shown.

They beat a desparate US team that has a lot of talent, although it hasn't always shown.

You're right. It wouldn't have been wrong
at all if US had advanced from this pair.
It was not pretty from us, but US gave one
he*ck of a fight.

Have to be happy we got trough.

The quarter finals are always tough. It doesn't really matter how you win these games, as long as you advance. We scored 4 goals and that was enough today.

I just can't believe how solid AKI BERG has looked in the tournament :yo:

They do have to start at the top. And they also have to rid themselves over guys who are over the hill.

What Team USA lacks that every other team in the quarters had is the element of surprise. Everything they do is telegraphed, and they've spent so much time thinking about what it's going to be that the D is upon them before they even shoot.

You're just not going to have success that way. And especially when your has-beens are skating half as fast.

It's disheartening, but it was surely expected.

Disappointing tournament for the US. They played hard, but they just couldn't finish. They're definitely lacking in natural goal-scorers. Today, though, they shot themselves in the foot with their stupid penalties. Could've gone either way today, Finnish team was just a little more disciplined and had better touch around the net.

Nice game, damn exciting! :eek:

USA was a good opponent and tried hard till the end but Finland was just that much better today. Especially 5 on 5. The ref was quite bad for both sides.

Anyway, a nice calm, professional win for the Finnish team, even though they did not play to their best ability today. They still managed to stay between the puck and their own goal very well, and pushed the U.S forwards to the corners. Shots came from far away and bad angles, naturally in a long run some will bounce in...but you cant say those are great scoring chances.

Like I said earlier to some Ville Peltonen bashers...the preliminary round is just not a big enough show for Ville. He needs the game to be important before he will start scoring his garbage goals! (Note: that was actually from the main scoring area, just like Jokinen's second one.)

Congrats to our Finnish fans!
Now go beat Canada, if they win, so we don't have them rubbing it in our faces.

Now on to some grades for the tournament...

A- Chelios
B Tkachuk (just couldnt finish)
B+ DiPietro (aside from the Finland game, Rick was great. Much better than I expected. I'm just glad Miller wasn't there because I don't think he could have helped this team any more than DiPietro did.)
A Cole (threw the body around, used his speed to beat several defenders to teh net.

I'll let y'all take the rest of 'em.

disagree...

F Chelios

F as in FAIL.

Can't wait to see him in 2010, he'll probably be faster

I just can't believe how solid AKI BERG has looked in the tournament :yo:
Aki usually looks like a defensively smarter Janne Niinimaa on the national team. Still some brain farts, but nothing huge.

I expected the US to lose, but they played hard and im happy with that.
Since Nitty is in net, back to being a flyers fan.

go win this you Finnish bastids :propeller

From what CBC showed of this game... Finland needs to smarten the hell up for next game against Russia.

Standing still, took 2 penalities while on the powerplay. No urgency to score while on the powerplay in the 3rd -> possibly the biggest mistake a hockey team can make.

They play their best when they play smart defensively, but an agressive in-your-face style first. Enough of this standing still, passive trap bull****e.

Don't know where Saku's head was this game, he should be much better on Friday.

I just can't believe how solid AKI BERG has looked in the tournament :yo:

Aki has been solid because he doesn't try to be too cute with puck and just plays it simple. He doesn't force the pass that is not there, no cross-ice passes, he just simply swats the puck out of d-zone along the boards. He seems to know better than try to play beyond his abilities.

Aki also has been surprisingly disciplined in physical play.

Keep it simple Aki! :handclap:

definitely finns worst game.

finland should have called timeout in middle of 3rd. they were either scrambling or standing around, just letting usa control the play.
us were bad at start but better after timeout calmed them down. finns should have done same thing. :help:

the D was weaker and us forechecking was effective.

obviously, too many penalties.

i hate ruutu.

i think russia will beat finland.

I thought it was a bad game by Finland, but I'll take the win anyway. Hopefully this is the team's one bad game in the tournament and we'll see a marked improvement against Russia. I'm not too optimistic about our chances, but I'll be happy if the team gives a good performance.

Niittymäki saved that last goal like no one's business! Jari Kurri was also about to have a heart attack like me! Either way, USA fought til the end, Finland didn't play as well as they've had in this tournament. I was hoping Russia woudn't win against Canada tonight, but of course they did.

It should be a tough match on Friday for Finland. Cheers to both teams tonight! :handclap:

Nice pic of the finnish team (http://expressen.se/content/1/c6/53/23/81/37de7c85.jpg)

Nice pic of the finnish team (http://expressen.se/content/1/c6/53/23/81/37de7c85.jpg)
:clap:

although he is ugly as hell, but he really was the one with heart. It wasn't a mistake to take him to Team USA, by far, there were much weaker men than him on the roster.

Bad game for finns, luckily we get Russia as our opponent for the next round. Finns never win Canada, but Russia we can we, no matter who is in their roster.

Aki has been solid Because he is Akiberg!

although he is ugly as hell, but he really was the one with heart.
newbie :propeller

finland should have called timeout in middle of 3rd.

And give TKACHUK time to breath? It was all to covering up the blueline.

i hate ruutu.

I hope not as much the USA players hate their hotelrooms.

Westerlund is incapable of acting when action is needed. He's an Aravirta clone in that matter. Finland desperately needed a time-out to prevent that heart-attack ending we so nearly endured.

When will our coaching staff learn that we cannot sit back and become passive and hope we can get through by hanging on? It doesn't fit the Finish psyche and has never ever worked.
The problem is amplified as the assistants, Dufva and Virta are carbon copies in terms of character. They're passive coaches too and can't act. On the bench we need either a BS preacher like Tami, who at least acts and uses his time-outs. Or a Summanen/Jortikka psycho who will go red in the face and detail it out in no uncertain terms to our guys that you cannot become passive like we did.

Lost Salo. Ouch, now we're really lacking in physical d-men. Kukkonen isn't at that level, we really need Pitkänen there =(

Westerlund is incapable of acting when action is needed. He's an Aravirta clone in that matter. Finland desperately needed a time-out to prevent that heart-attack ending we so nearly endured.

When will our coaching staff learn that we cannot sit back and become passive and hope we can get through by hanging on? It doesn't fit the Finish psyche and has never ever worked.
The problem is amplified as the assistants, Dufva and Virta are carbon copies in terms of character. They're passive coaches too and can't act. On the bench we need either a BS preacher like Tami, who at least acts and uses his time-outs. Or a Summanen/Jortikka psycho who will go red in the face and detail it out in no uncertain terms to our guys that you cannot become passive like we did.

Lost Salo. Ouch, now we're really lacking in physical d-men. Kukkonen isn't at that level, we really need Pitkänen there =(


The thing is, I didn't see it like that at all... but I watched it here in the States not on Yle. :)

Today was the first time I felt Finland has finally learned how to win games like the other top teams. Sure they gave all of the possesion to US in the 3rd period but they beleived in their plan, and it worked. Unlike many Finnish fans on this forum, I felt Finland finally excelled at what the Czechs and Canadians have always been good at; protecting the lead by very simple defensive play and trying to make sure you minimize 2 on 1 etc.

Finland has a plan for these Olympics, and they are executing it perfectly IMO. The team is confident, and beleives they can win anyone as long as they play their game and stick to the plan. I feel Finland will go all the way now. Best team Finland has EVER had in a tournament, and the passion shows! :clap:

top lines without Teemu?


Olli - Saku - Jere?
Jussi - Mikko - Ville?
I think that any coach is an idiot if he doesn't use the Ville-Saku-Jere line if Teemu is unavailable...

The way USA was playing in the last period reminded me of those horrendous Finland-Sweden matches when Finland is leading by a few goals.. :eek:

Fortunately with a few early goals and Niittymäki playing great we managed to pull it off. USA played well and was maybe a bit unlucky too, some nice slapshots by Schneider.

Phew.. :bow:

Hopefully this is the team's one bad game in the tournament and we'll see a marked improvement against Russia.

My thoughts exactly. I wasn't impressed by the third period and I didn't think Finland play was completely controlled at all, and our three most offensively gifted forwards even sort of admitted as much after the game (Jokinen - "Too passive". Selänne - "Too cautious". Koivu - "Not a good game by us"). But what I was impressed with was winning even on a bad day. That still tells that something good is happening within this team. I'm confident that we'll play our best game yet against Russia.

Whether that will be enough or not, however, is an entirely different case. Russia is easily the scariest (and most entertaining) team left in this tournament IMO.

Btw, Jussi Jokinen will owe Petteri Nummelin quite a few beers by the end of the tournament. That's four wasted breakaways set up by Nummelin in 6 games and counting...

Congrats to Finland, the only good thing to come out of this is that Waddell and Laviolette are gone. Heres to Jay Feaster and John Torterella leading The US in 2010.

The thing is, I didn't see it like that at all... but I watched it here in the States not on Yle. :)

Today was the first time I felt Finland has finally learned how to win games like the other top teams. Sure they gave all of the possesion to US in the 3rd period but they beleived in their plan, and it worked. Unlike many Finnish fans on this forum, I felt Finland finally excelled at what the Czechs and Canadians have always been good at; protecting the lead by very simple defensive play and trying to make sure you minimize 2 on 1 etc.

Finland has a plan for these Olympics, and they are executing it perfectly IMO. The team is confident, and beleives they can win anyone as long as they play their game and stick to the plan. I feel Finland will go all the way now. Best team Finland has EVER had in a tournament, and the passion shows! :clap:
Czech and Canada never become that passive in the final minutes of the game. It seems like it's our eternal problem and we've lost games many times because of that. In World Championships 2003 we had the 5-1 lead against Sweden after 30 minutes of play but we ****ing lost the game 6-5. We simply cannot keep the lead if we become too passive, last night the luck was on our side and thanks to Niittymäki we advanced. I don't say we were lucky to win the game but in the last minutes we were a bit lucky to keep the lead.