GDT: [WJC] Latvia vs. Finland, 6pm EST 9/8/22

[Ippenator]

Not a great but ok game by Finland. 1st line was great (Räty 1+3, Kemell 2+2 and Hirvonen 1+2), and Niemelä, Heimosalmi and Meriläinen were good. Also Simontaival and Järventie looked quite ok. Lambert scored a nice goal and showed how great his skating is, but not much of anything else, and the coach Pennanen said in an interview that he didn’t feel that Lambert’s play was really convincing and trustworthy enough, so he got benched. From the defencemen Puutio was godawful, and made mistakes after mistakes, with and without the puck.

Can’t say that I’m very convinced with Pennanen as a coach. He’s not actually a really bad coach, but he is a too rigid and stubborn robot-hockey coach, who can’t really adjust his tactics with the opponents too well. But the players and his basic system might still be enough for medals, and you never know what can happen with players like Räty, Hirvonen, Niemelä and Kemell in the team. Finland might have a chance for even winning gold, but in my opinion it’s BS to say that Finland is the biggest gold medal favorite after all.

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

Alberta ODR hockey in the Rockies.

That’s on Lake Louise, it’s fun when they clear it off I’ve played on there a couple times.

@starkravingsabres if you ever come to Alberta in the winter from the USA, I’ll take you for a skate brother.

Cheers. Got in lots of hiking, climbing, and skiing, but I sadly didn't take advantage of that hockey opportunity at Lake Louise during the 2 years I lived in Calgary.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Not a great but ok game by Finland. 1st line was great (Räty 1+3, Kemell 2+2 and Hirvonen 1+2), Niemelä and Meriläinen were good. Also Simontaival and Järventie looked quite ok. Lambert scored a nice goal and showed how great his skating is,but not much of anything else, and the coach Pennanen said in an interviews that he didn’t feel that Lambert’s play was really convincing and trustworthy enough, so he got benched. Puutio was godawful, and made mistakes after mistakes, with and without the puck.

Can’t say that I’m very convinced with Pennanen as a coach. He’s not actually a really bad coach, but he is a too rigid and stubborn robot-hockey coach, who can’t really adjust his tactics with the opponents too well. But the players and his basic system might still be enough for medals, and you never know what can happen with players like Räty, Hirvonen, Niemelä and Kemell in the team. Finland might have a chance for even winning gold, but in my opinion it’s BS to say that Finland is the biggest gold medal favorite after all.

These U20 WJC's have only 2 gold medal favorites and one of those isn't Finland.
Canada and USA are favorites and Finland and Sweden are challengers.

Everyone including TV5 studio staff who are saying or said
Finland is gold-medal favorite is cheating himself and talking thickest bullshit for a century.

Yes Canada has some misses ( Wright, Power, etc ) on their roster
but still that team is easily number 1 favorite and enough good and talented to win this whole tournament.

 

[SI90]

Raty is a gem.

Was really impressed by Kemell Lambert and Hirovanan

 

[llwyd]

These U20 WJC's have only 2 gold medal favorites and one of those isn't Finland.
Canada and USA are favorites and Finland and Sweden are challengers.

Doesn't seem so clear cut to be honest. I guess those two are the biggest favourites but our gold would not really be such an upset, we have a strong team this year. We'll see.

 

[JJTT]

Highlights

IIHF - Videos

IIHF - Videos

www.iihf.com

 

[Kalv]

This goalie is getting shelled, seems like it’s par for the course for Latvian goalies in international competition lol

Unfortunately, lol.

I watched the first part of the game, and I think we looked fairly ok, but obviously lacked some confidence and skill sometimes. It will be even harder vs Canada but I hope we can hand with Czechs and Slovaks.

Finlands top guys really delivered last night.

 

[Monkey D Luffy]

Not a great but ok game by Finland. 1st line was great (Räty 1+3, Kemell 2+2 and Hirvonen 1+2), and Niemelä, Heimosalmi and Meriläinen were good. Also Simontaival and Järventie looked quite ok. Lambert scored a nice goal and showed how great his skating is,but not much of anything else, and the coach Pennanen said in an interview that he didn’t feel that Lambert’s play was really convincing and trustworthy enough, so he got benched. From the defencemen Puutio was godawful, and made mistakes after mistakes, with and without the puck.

Could it be because he is recovering from an illness that kept him out during the pre-tournament?

 

[lomiller1]

Toronto also doesn’t get the same type of cold weather that Western Canada and Finland do. It’s nowhere near as cold.

Toronto is similar to the costal areas of Finland, but both are wet-cold which is awful for spending time outdoors. In a dry-cold climate all you need to worry about is dressing for the wind but wet-cold cold robs your cloths of all their insulation value making it difficult to stay warm. A sunny -13 deg C in western Canada is way more comfortable than a cloudy -3 in Toronto IMO.

 

[Ippenator]

Could it be because he is recovering from an illness that kept him out during the pre-tournament?

Yes, I have understood that it was the reason for him not playing in some of the pre-tournament games, and most probably why his game wasn’t exactly where Pennanen expected it to be against Latvia. Although he did praise Lambert for his goal, and said that he is a good and talented kid.

 

[snipes]

Toronto is similar to the costal areas of Finland, but both are wet-cold which is awful for spending time outdoors. In a dry-cold climate all you need to worry about is dressing for the wind but wet-cold cold robs your cloths of all their insulation value making it difficult to stay warm. A sunny -13 deg C in western Canada is way more comfortable than a cloudy -3 in Toronto IMO.

For sure. I spent some time on the west coast during my undergrad and those damp cold days bite you to the bone especially when there isn’t much sun out. Doesn’t make for great outdoor hockey when it’s that damp and just around freezing temperature.

Some of my favourite days in Calgary are when it’s in the -8 to -12 range with the sun shining on a clear day. Cold enough so the ice doesn’t get soft and start melting but also nice enough that you can just throw a hoodie on with a hockey sweater over top.

 

[karhukissa]

Yes, I have understood that it was the reason for him not playing in some of the pre-tournament games, and most probably why his game wasn’t exactly where Pennanen expected it to be against Latvia. Although he did praise Lambert for his goal, and said that he is a good and talented kid.

I think Pennanen has done a good job with Lambert. High amount of talent should always equal extra high standards. In the NHL you can't cheat at all, or you'll be healthy scratch before you can say the word "talent".

Last year he was benched too and some people here got mad. He can score flashy goal and crowd will forgive him, but professional coaches won't and that's part of the learning process.

 

[ijuka]

I think Pennanen has done a good job with Lambert. High amount of talent should always equal extra high standards. In the NHL you can't cheat at all, or you'll be healthy scratch before you can say the word "talent".

Last year he was benched too and some people here got mad. He can score flashy goal and crowd will forgive him, but professional coaches won't and that's part of the learning process.

So the more talented you are, the higher the standards? Less talented players can do whatever, but when a highly talented player makes a mistake, they get benched?

Yeahh, I disagree with this, even though it's very prevalent in Finland.

 

[karhukissa]

So the more talented you are, the higher the standards? Less talented players can do whatever, but when a highly talented player makes a mistake, they get benched?

Yeahh, I disagree with this, even though it's very prevalent in Finland.

No, everyone has high standards. But these very talented players have extra high standards like i said.

It's obviously not that black and white and we talk about Team Finland here, there are no players that will "do whatever" and doesn't play for the team. Pennanen chose players that will work their asses off and play within that polished structure what they call meidän peli.

If coach sees that Lambert just cheats a little bit and in some scenarios he just doesn't feel like backchecking, he get's benched. These are called very high standards, something you'll see in the NHL.

 

[Jukurit]

Lambert has played his best hockey in the past 2 years in Pennanen coached teams, so maybe Pennanen knows what he's doing with Lambert.