For Finland, finals often equal heartbreak

Originally published on IHWC.net 2007

By Lucas Aykroyd

Some Finnish fans might feel like the following article will be cathartic, enabling them to put the disappointments of yesteryear in perspective and move on. Other Finnish fans may immediately skip to another article as soon as they see the title.

It’s impossible not to have a healthy dose of dread mixed in with anticipation if you’re cheering for the Finnish Lions heading into Sunday’s gold medal game against Canada. Telling Finnish fans to relax in this situation is like telling them never to take another sauna or telling Esa Tikkanen to shut up–it’s just not going to happen.

After all, only once in senior men’s IIHF competition has Finland triumphed in a gold medal game: the 1995 World Championship in Stockholm, where Saku Koivu, Ville Peltonen, and Jere Lehtinen teamed up on the top “Tupu-Hupu-Lupu” line and led their team to a 4-1 win over Tre Kronor, as the tournament theme song “Den Glider In” resounded.

Almost every other time, Finland has come heartbreakingly close to winning, but something has gone wrong in the end. In some ways, it would have been easier to accept if the Finns had lost more of these games 8-1 (like Canada versus the Soviet Union in the 1981 Canada Cup final) or 4-0 (like the Czechs versus Sweden in Riga 2006).

So Finland will have to hope that its players can keep cooler heads on Sunday than its fans at Khodynka Arena or those watching on TV or IHWC.NET’s Games Online service.

Let’s briefly relive the tough times.

Bittersweet Silver: Sweden beats Finland in 1992 World Championship final

This was Finland’s first-ever medal at an IIHF World Championship, and after finishing fourth on 10 previous occasions, it would have been unfair to describe 1992’s results as anything other than a success. Nonetheless, it was tough for the Finns to accept a nervous 5-2 loss to Tre Kronor in Prague after earning a perfect record in the round-robin and then ousting Canada and the Czechs in the playoffs. The Finns placed more players on the tournament all-star team than any other nation did (goalie Markus Ketterer, defenseman Timo Jutila, and forward Jarkko Varvio).

The Pain of Penalty Shots: Canada beats Finland in 1994 World Championship final

Canada celebrated its 2-1 shootout victory for gold with extra enthusiasm, since this was the first world title for the motherland of hockey in 33 years. However, the Finns couldn’t believe they had come this close only to fail in Milan. After Esa Keskinen and Rod Brind’Amour exchanged goals in regulation and overtime settled nothing, the shooters took over the spotlight. Through the first round of five shooters, Jari Kurri and Mikko Makela scored on Bill Ranford and Luc Robitaille and Joe Sakic replied in kind against Jarmo Myllys. After Robitaille beat Myllys again using a backhanded deke, Mika Nieminen failed to score on Ranford and it was all over.

Tormented by Tornberg: Sweden beats Finland in 1998 World Championship final

Johan Tornberg only represented Sweden once at the Worlds, and unfortunately for the Finns, the Pajala-born defenseman really made the most of his Zurich appearance. Outshone over the balance of the tournament by Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, and Tommy Salo, Tornberg scored from the blueline on Finnish goalie Ari Sulander at 10:07 of the third period to give Sweden a 1-0 win in the opening game of the two-game final. After the teams skated to a scoreless draw in the second game (this comprising frankly the most boring final in World Championship history), Sweden was awarded the title. “The better team won,” said Finnish Head Coach Hannu Aravirta. “We played on our level but couldn’t score.”

Happy Hlavac, Horrified Finns: Czech Republic beats Finland in 1999 World Championship final

Having gained their second straight berth in a two-game final, the Finns had to suffer the indignity of losing a title after recording a solid win. They fell 3-1 to the Czechs in the first game, but rallied for a 4-1 victory in the second game in Lillehammer. Under this format, the teams then went to overtime to decide the champion, and Jan Hlavac broke Finland’s heart at 16:32 by capitalizing on a breakaway on Miikka Kiprusoff, who was largely unknown outside the Finnish and Swedish Leagues at this time.

More Misery, Courtesy of Moravec: Czech Republic beats Finland in 2001 World Championship final

This was a final the Finns should have won. They outshot the Czechs 49-35 and held a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. However, Martin Prochazka and Jiri Dopita scored in the final 20 minutes (the tying goal coming with 5:55 left), and it was off to overtime, just like in 1999. In the extra session, the Finns failed to score on an early man advantage after Petr Cajanek was penalized for covering the puck up in front of the net. At 10:38, Czech forward David Moravec scored the winner on a beautiful backhand on goalie Pasi Nurminen after Pavel Patera stole the puck from Toni Sihvonen and raced into the Finnish zone to set up his linemate.

Doan Like Dinner: Canada beats Finland in 2004 World Cup final

At the time, the Finns said making the World Cup final under the leadership of intensely competitive Head Coach Raimo Summanen was the biggest accomplishment in their hockey history. But they couldn’t overcome a Mario Lemieux-led Team Canada that never trailed once in this entire tournament. Despite an amazing individual effort by Tuomo Ruutu to tie the game 2-2 with a minute left in the second period, Canada scored the winner early in the third when Shane Doan drove to the net, took a pass from Joe Thornton stationed behind the goal line, and tucked the puck around Kiprusoff.

Lidstrom’s Long Shot: Sweden beats Finland in 2006 Olympic final

Everyone remembers how Nicklas Lidstrom blew a perfect shot past Finnish goalie Antero Niittymaki just 10 seconds into the third period for the 3-2 winner in this all-Scandinavian showdown for gold in Turin last year. But for Finnish fans, another play remains equally vivid: the moment with 20 seconds left when Swedish netminder Henrik Lundqvist robbed Olli Jokinen of the tying goal from right on the doorstep. There would be no last-minute miracle for the Finns, who had to take solace in having played the best tournament from start to finish of any of the Olympic hockey nations and nearly being the best on the final day.