GDT: Semifinal - May 25 - Russia vs Finland

[BL92]

Swedish reactions to Finnish Team have made it lot more easier to be less "hard liner" what comes to SWE-FIN rivalry.

Personally, I'll gonna root for Sweden next time when Finns are out and Sweden is playing in the final. The Law of Karma.

However, this doesn't apply to FIN-SWE matches. Never!

Same for me. Things may get heated between our countries when it comes to sports, but at the end of the day, we're brothers in one form or another.

 

[Bruce Granville]

How did this team lose to germany?

We wanted to play against Sweden and Russia.

 

[Mestaruus]

The Russian players just can't deal with the fact they got their asses served to them on a silver platter....................again.

That is all there is to read into about that.

That's what Russians get when they force their tired superstars to play every WHC. No other team does that. They should have some superstars yes but mix in some hungry unknown KHL guys as well.

 

[Finnswiss]

We wanted to play against Sweden and Russia.

There is something new by the Finns. They lose the unimportant games but win those which count.

 

[BL92]

Sorry for my sentimental drunken rambles but even if we get our asses handed to us in the finals, this team has already pulled off some of the most insane shit in Finnish sports history. I couldn't be more proud of the TEAM.

 

[jj cale]

That's what Russians get when they force their tired superstars to play every WHC. No other team does that. They should have some superstars yes but mix in some hungry unknown KHL guys as well.

Their team always has a decent amount of khl guys though, I assume they think they are hungry no?

I really don't think it's is so much a hunger thing as it is still this mentality of thinking their skilled players will always carry the day and not digging in enough. I feel they don't give enough respect to their opponents, they still think it's 1980, maybe I'm wrong.

I know there is still a lot of fans who think that way about them and the current international hockey situation.

You see the same thing with teams sometimes with Switzerland, they sometimes don't put in that extra gear against them and you damn well need to these days.

 

[BL92]

Their team always has a decent amount of khl guys though, I assume they think they are hungry no?

I really don't think it's is so much a hunger thing as it is still this mentality of thinking their skilled players will always carry the day and not digging in enough. I feel they don't give enough respect to their opponents, they still think it's 1980, maybe I'm wrong.

I know there is still a lot of fans who think that way about them and the current international hockey situation.

Feels like they still carry that old superpower mentality around. Like their existance alone somehow entitles them to win gold.

 

[jj cale]

Feels like they still carry that old superpower mentality around. Like their existance alone somehow entitles them to win gold.

I am not sure if it is carried to quite that extreme but I can't help but feel they carry too high a level of it and it makes them vulnerable.

Of course, this all speculation on my part.

 

[RageQuit77]

Sorry for my sentimental drunken rambles but even if we get our asses handed to us in the finals, this team has already pulled off some of the most insane **** in Finnish sports history. I couldn't be more proud of the TEAM.

Well spoken. Its never shame to lose Team Canada in any final, but on the other hand its not anymore that Canada can just take their Gold as granted. They maybe invented the game, but long gone are those days it belonged only to them.

When half of the population tune in to Hockey, it must be our game too.

On the other hand if Finns win with this team... Monday is going to be cancelled as a work day. LOL!

 

[anfieldo]

Good luck bronze game Russia, there you can show how to play ice hockey properly.

 

[BL92]

Well spoken. Its never shame to lose Team Canada in any final, but on the other hand its not anymore that Canada can just take their Gold as granted. They maybe invented the game, but long gone are those days it belonged only to them.

When half of the population tune in to Hockey, it must be our game too.

On the other hand if Finns win with this team... Monday is going to be cancelled as a work day. LOL!

It's going to be a tough, tough game and an absolute grind but gone are the days where we rolled out the red carpet for the opposer. In the everlasting words of Matti Laurila:

TUUMAAKAAN EI ANNETA TAPPELEMATTA

 

[Lexus]

Chills. Any way to hear him announce Anttila's goal?

Here you go.

 

[BL92]

Here you go.

Beautiful!

 

[grieves]

Russian media and players just said that Finlands hockey is bad for the game.

Really? I thought that for once international Russian hockey was taking a step forward, it almost looked like it.

I would almost understand this if Finland would have played some kind of passive game, but that is just blatant excuses and lying.

Shame, damn shame. It was a great game but character is not something you can just have without building it yourself. Embarrassing if they really said that, super embarrassing.

 

[Ippenator]

Line chemistry is so damn important. You can neutralize any "big" name just by playing a poor line chemistry-wise. That's why lineup decisions and experimenting with them is so important.

Jalonen seems to understand this. He also is clearly incredibly intelligent when you listen to him.

When in doubt, trust intelligent people, especially with a history of success.

An extremely good post! This is exactly how it is in all team sports in fact. People who claim that line chemistry doesn’t mean much are absolutely out to lunch. Also another extremely undervalued thing nowadays is the meaning of the coach and leading players in motivating the team and getting them well committed for playing the true team game what team sports should really be about. There’s nowadays way too much praising of individuals, individual plays and especially dangling and creating chances by yourself. That is BS team play and doesn’t lead into consistent winning in hockey when the other teams understand how to play the real team game.

 

[Murky]

Russian media and players just said that Finlands hockey is bad for the game.

All I have seen from Tretyak et al. has been rather high praise for the Finns. Any links?

 

[grieves]

An extremely good post! This is exactly how it is in all team sports in fact. People who claim that line chemistry doesn’t mean much are absolutely out to lunch. Also another extremely undervalued thing nowadays is the meaning of the coach and leading players in motivating the team and getting them well committed for playing the true team game what team sports should really be about. Way too much praising of individuals, individual plays and especially dangling and creating chances by yourself. That is BS team play and doesn’t lead into consistent winning hockey when the other teams understand how to play the real team game.

Yeah for sure, I remember as a hockey-youngling when I was getting into the sport and I could not for the life of me understand why you could not just compare stats among players.

I understand now for sure. Whole teams can be neutered with the wrong kind of deployment.

 

[elmaco]

How did this team lose to germany?

Leon. Draisaitl.

 

[Ukkosenjumala]

You know I was gonna post something after the game about how the Russian media, players or the coaches would whine about the way Finland played and it kinda saddens me that I figured it would be better to wait because you know they would and I could just post it then.

This might not be PC but that's such a Russian thing to do. Imagine the USA Olympic basketball team complaining about the way the Argentinians played in 2004....except we didn't even have a Manobili. It's beyond pathetic.

 

[grieves]

You know I was gonna post something after the game about how the Russian media, players or the coaches would whine about the way Finland played and it kinda saddens me that I figured it would be better to wait because you know they would and I could just post it then.

This might not be PC but that's such a Russian thing to do. Imagine the USA Olympic basketball team complaining about the way the Argentinians played in 2004....except we didn't even have a Manobili. It's beyond pathetic.

Dishonesty is not something you just shake off as a culture after a brutal communist system though ("They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work") . Just saying. There is deep trauma there and lying about things is a symptom which I'm sure they will overcome eventually because the Russians are a very resiliant people.

 

[BennsGonnaGetYou]

Leon. Draisaitl.

Saved us from getting eliminated back to back by Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

 

[ijuka]

Well, Canada's defeated Finland every single time in the finals. Surely at some point the tide will turn and Finland will actually end up winning? Wouldn't be the most unlikely thing to happen in this tournament...

 

[Goldmember]

Lol after reading the comments fron russians I just gotta laugh how childish cry babies they are. Grow up.

 

[SantosHalper]

Great win, great team, what a great day to be a Finn. Sing it Vesku, sing it loud.

 

[noliz79]

Finns can be proud of this team. They play with so much heart and spirit that they can even beat the higher skilled teams. And I'm happy for Finland that Marjamäki is no more the head coach. I'm convinced with Marjamäki they never had won against Sweden after a 2 goals deficit.

Everyone speaks about skill. Jalonen said that top nhl players have little more skill with the puck. In other skills this finnish roster is not behind at all. Also to play smart and for the team is a mental skill and this roster definitely has it.

If a team wants to play up to its full potential, it has to play with its strengths and play the opponents strengths away. Skill with the puck is just a fraction of the game but the big audience likes to think it is all that counts.