The Finnish national team was the first to reach the World Hockey Championship finals in Slovakia after beating Russia 1-0 in the semi-finals. Later on, the Canadian national team also reached the finals after winning 5-1 over the Czechs.
| Finland defeats the Russians in a big surprise (Photo: AFP) |
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In the middle of the first quarter, it didn’t take Finland long to take the lead, but the Russian defenders blocked the ball from the goal line after a stand – the Finns were more active in the game, scoring more goals, but neither happened. The team managed to score.
Russia also began to fall asleep in the second third, with its first shot attempt arriving in just the fifth minute, while the Finns made it to the goal. On the jump, the balance of power stabilized, but neither goalkeeper was effective at this point, so the two sides switched to a tie without a goal for the third.
Then, in the tenth minute, the first (and victorious) blow of the semi-final was born: after the defense, Marco Antella immediately fired the rebound disc, which broke through the goal between the goalkeeper’s legs.
Depressed Alexander Oveskin ran into big trouble, but they were unable to break the Finnish defense – Finland, after the Swedish defenders, called Russia and the final, where Canada would be their opponent.
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| Canada easily defeats the Czech Republic (Photo: AFP) |
In the evening semi-final, Canada collided with the Czech Republic. The Maple Leaves advanced early in the fifth minute after Mark Stone put his midfield bat – although Stone wanted to shoot, the disc “crept” from his racket to the Czech goal before moving on.
Canada increased its lead to two goals at the start of the second quarter, with Darnell Nurse taking just ten seconds to score. Soon after, the score was 3-0, and the Czechs were unable to overtake goalkeeper Matt Murray in the jump.
Canada were successful twice in the final third, winning 5-1 over the Czech Republic, allowing Maple Leaves to play in the final with the Finns.
Hockey
Elite World Championship, Slovakia
Final
Canada – Czech Republic 5-1 (1–0, 2–0, 2–1)
Russia and Finland 0-1 (0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
| Quarter-finals (May 23) | ||
| Match 57 | CanadaSwitzerland (Kosice) | 3-2 – is |
| Match 58 | Czech RepublicGermany (Bratislava) | 5-1 |
| Match 59 | RussiaUnited States (Bratislava) | 4-3 |
| Match 60 | FinlandSweden (Kosice) | 5-4 – is |
| Semi Final (May 25) | ||
| Match 61 | Russia-Finland (Bratislava) | 0-1 |
| Match 62 | CanadaCzech Republic (Bratislava) | 5-1 |
| For Third Place (26th May) | ||
| Match 63 | Russia – Czech Republic (Bratislava) | 15.45 |
| Final (May 26) | ||
| Match 64 | Finland-Canada (Bratislava) | 20.15 |
