Finns win the gold Beat ROC for first men’s hockey triumph

beijing — » Sheets of paper rained down like supersized confetti on the bench, which players leapt off at full speed to pile on top of goaltender Harri Sateri with such force that they knocked the net off its moorings.

After finally accomplishing what so many Finland teams before were unable to do, there was plenty of strength to go around. Finland, known as Suomi in Finnish, is now synonymous with gold.

The Finns knocked off the favored Russians 2-1 Sunday to win the men’s hockey tournament without NHL players at the Beijing Games, capturing an Olympic gold medal for the first time in the nation’s history.

“We got what we came here for,” Finland defenseman Sami Vatanen said. “We battled hard, and we got the first Olympic gold medal in Finnish ice hockey history. It’s something something special, and nobody can ever take it away from us.”

Finland had never won at the Olympics on the men’s or women’s side. It last reached the final in 2006 and lost to Sweden, matching the silver from 1988.

The defending champion Russians had to settle for silver instead of going back to back.

“On this day, we’re the best country in the world in hockey,” Finland forward Harri Pesonen said.

While the Russians looked like the new favorites when the NHL withdrew because of pandemic-related schedule disruptions in late December, the Finns were actually the big winners. With recent NHL players such as captain Valtteri Filppula, forward Leo Komarov and defensemen Sami Vatanen and Mikko Lehtonen on the team, Finland had the firepower to go along with its hallmark of strong structure, defense and goaltending.

That combination helped Finland go through the Olympics undefeated in six games, including a three-goal comeback to beat rival Sweden in the preliminary round. Finland beat Switzerland, Slovakia and the Russians to roll through the tournament in efficient, business-like fashion.

This game ended better for the Finns than the last final 16 years ago, when national stars Teemu Selanne, Kimmo Timonen, Mikko and Saku Koivu and Jere Lehtinen almost got the job done.

The Finnish Olympic heroes this time included Sateri, leading goal-scorer Sakari Manninen, defenseman Ville Pokka, alternate captain Marko Anttila, and winger Hannes Bjorninen. Pokka tied it after Mikhail Grigorenko put the Russians on the board, Bjorninen redirected Anttila’s shot for the winning goal and Sateri made 16 saves.

The Russians got only three shots on net in the third period.

“That’s how good our guys played,” Sateri said. “They played such good defense today and throughout the whole tournament.”