The Young Lions ate pasta on Wednesday morning at 7:30. The Germany game started at ten in the morning.
Joel Määtt scored Finland’s fifth goal in the quarterfinals. ZUMAWIRE / MVPHOTOS
Finland is playing for medals in the under-20 World Championships. The matter was confirmed when Nuoret Leijonat defeated Germany 5–2.
Finland scored no less than four overtime goals in the quarter-finals.
– The dominant play was very good. We knew that the opponent is a team that defends well with five against five and there won’t be many scoring opportunities. That’s why it was important for us to succeed with superior force, he said Antti Pennanen.
Roby Järventie had two hits in the victory. The other scorers were Kasper Simontaival, Roni Hirvonen and Joel Määtä.
Vaisu second batch
Finland fell asleep in the second set.
– We waited for something to happen and wondered. Maybe the pressures of racing and elite sports came a little bit into it.
For the first time, the team shot at a friend’s goal after the half of the set.
– It was a weird thing. It was already briefly discussed with the coaching. And we still need to talk more, the head coach said.
Underpower rots
Germany scored two hits with superiority. The Alivoima of the Young Lions is confusingly the worst of the entire tournament.
The head coach admits that Finland’s underpowered game is not playing right now.
– It has been the strength of this team for a couple of years. Now that’s been a bummer. The opponent has easily reached our area and the goal and is hitting rebounds.
– Playing attackers underpowered doesn’t work. These things need to be fixed. It will be fine, Pennanen assured.
The Germany game started at an absurd time, 10 o’clock in the morning. This is because all four quarterfinals of the World Cup were played on Wednesday.
Due to scheduling reasons, the first game had to start early.
– Well, we ate pasta at 7:30 in the morning, that’s rarely done. The boys woke up after five, and at half past six it was morning jog. The schedule was special, but the team adapted well to it, Pennanen praised.
Continues on Friday
Leevi Meriläinen prevented Finland from winning in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. ZUMAWIRE / MVPHOTOS
There is a break in the tournament on Thursday. The semi-finals will be played on Friday, the bronze medal game and the final on Saturday.
The Young Lions will face Sweden on the night before Saturday Finnish time. In the earlier semi-final, host Canada will meet the surprise Czech Republic.