Iltalehti compiles the three most interesting points from each race day. Here are Friday’s points.
The stand was painted white
Lassi Kuisma
On Friday, in the stands of the Finland-USA game, there were a bewildering number of white Finland shirts with the number 23 on the back. This is not a free distribution shirt, but during the halftime break, a supporter kindly told us that it is, among other things, a Finland race shirt sold in the official fan area. The supporter in question had paid 95 euros for the sweater. Based on Friday, fan product sales are hot in Tampere. In the stands, the white sea looked great. Even if Finland won, the mood would rise even more.
There were a lot of Suomi shirts with the number 23 on Friday. Jussi Saarinen
Will the identity of the Lions be found?
Vesa Parviainen
Finland’s opening loss against the USA came with a game that we are not used to seeing from the lions piloted by Jukka Jalonen. It could be due to the intense pressure of the energetic Americans that the defenders did not look for opening passes to the center but tried to knock the puck out of their own area through the channel. As a result, the puck control typical of Jukka Jalonen’s style of play was not created, and the team drifted away from its area of strength. The game against Germany should already be on track better.
With the lions’ humiliating defeat, the ene is dull
Santtu Silvennoinen
Friday’s humiliating loss to the Lions has a grim omen. In the 2000s, Finland had lost the opening game in men’s ice hockey championships only four times before. In the 2002 Olympic Games, the USA won 6–0, in the 2010 World Cup in Germany, Denmark surprised 4–1, in the 2014 World Cup in Belarus, Latvia was better 3–2, and in the 2015 World Cup in the Czech Republic, the USA beat Finland 5–1. In these tournaments, only once has the Lions’ streak continued beyond the quarter-finals: at the Minsk 2014 Games, after the kinky stages, they won silver.