FINLAND CLAIMS MAC’S TITLE
FINAL 7-1 VICTORY CAPS DOMINANT TOURNEY
Perfection is, naturally, nothing more than an ethereal illusion to chase; an intoxicating ideal.
For Kalle Kaskinen, though, Wednesday’s 36th edition of the Mac’s midget male division final provided the next best thing: Close to the Finnished product. “An excellent game,” beamed Finland’s Under-17 boss, satisfied with a 7-1 mauling of the Swiss U17s in an all-international showdown of unbeatens at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
He did, however, hedge slightly when asked to rate his gifted group on a scale of 1-to-10.
“I don’t know the number,” Kaskinen protested. “But the things we want to show are the offensive speed, good reaction, hard pressure — pressure, pressure, pressure, all the time — and I think we got that. Usually, it’s not one guy. The first guy takes the time out, the space out, the second guy takes the puck. A team effort all the time.
“Same thing with the offensive speed. I’ve seen the huge difference against the other teams. They just pass. We skate with the puck. Short passes, we get the speed up and that’s our way.’’
The Suomi were simply too big, too strong, too polished, too predatory. In purely technical, birth-certificate terms, it was boys against boys but the disparity in calibre, in power and precision, moved into the realm of boys against men.
“It’s very special,” said Finland’s buzz saw forward Petrus Palmi, named tournament MVP, “but what’s important is the team is the winner. We have lots of very good guys. I’m very happy.”
The Finns scored on their second shot of the first period, first of the second and a minute and 38 seconds into the third. They chased starting Swiss netminder Tim Guggisberg from his post after denting him for five goals on 27 shots (the final nail a Julius Nattinen weakie from a bad angle between the wickets during an early third-period powerplay).
They outshot the overmatched Swiss 37-15 and, vitally, controlled the physical side of things.
“I know how (the Swiss) play,’’ said Kaskinen. “A team play with good players, too. But I think we have more variation in how we play, it’s more effective. And, of course, better players. Better players.’’
Of those players, the inspirational Palmu came in for particular praise.
“He’s very special,’’ agreed Kaskinen. “The staff, we had this becoming-a-Lion-King award, and all the time we were watching the players, the values they have. He played for the team, he pushed himself to the limit and of course you need the skills to score the goals. He was the perfect player. “He was the Lion King for us.’’ The final had to be delayed an hour owing to the marathon three-OT female championship, and, in retrospect, the Swiss might’ve been happier had it been postponed indefinitely.
Outscoring opponents 55-10 along the way and slapping the final foes around 5-2 in a pre-tournament exhibition made Kaskinen’s kids the clear favourite pre puck-drop. The predictable plot line, then, began coming to pass a mere 1:03 in, Jesse Puljujarvi, using Swiss defenceman Elia Auriemma as a screen, executing a slick toe-drag before lasering the puck behind the unfortunate Guggisberg far side.
Guggisberg managed to hold the tempest at bay temporarily, producing a couple of excellent stops, but on the Finns’ 12th shot of the period, at 7:36, Erik Embrich surprised him with a wrister just inside that far post again. And when Arttu Ruotsalainen’s 2-on-1 pass glanced in off the stick of sliding Swiss D-man Misha Moor, his first of a four-point performance (2G,2A), the lopsidedness of the score line, not the winner, seemed the only issue in dispute.
“I’m very happy with my teammates,’’ said Ruotsalainen afterwards. “We played very well. I like to play here, in this stadium.
“I got good passes. Good plays. Easy goals. But it’s a difficult game.’’
Ah, but they made what looked a potentially tricky proposition seem child’s play. Perfection? Nothing of the sort. But a pretty commendable facsimile, nonetheless.
“The core thing,’’ stressed Kaskinen, “was to get those Lion values to come out of the team. It means that everyone is committed to the team play. We have skilled players, speed and all. But this game showed we have the best players AND the best team. The team effort made the difference.’’
He smiled, like a fox that’s just finished digesting after a trip to the hen house.
“... 7-1. We can’t say nothing more.’’
No, after that performance, further elaboration seemed wholly unnecessary.