Sunday, January 4, 2009

Finland stays in the Top Group

IIHF.com

CIVIC CENTRE – Finland avoided disaster by beating Germany 3-1 on the final day of relegation round play. With the victory, the Finns clinched top spot in the round with nine points and will finish seventh overall.

Finland - Germany 3-1 (2-0, 0-1, 1-0)

2009 marked the first time the Finns have ever experienced the perils of the relegation round at this tournament, and it was critical for head coach Jukka Rautakorpi's squad to retain its place among the “Big Seven” hockey nations.

Barring a miraculous victory by Kazakhstan over Latvia, which would create a three-way tie in points (three apiece) between Latvia, Germany, and Kazakhstan at the end of the relegation round, the Germans are likely destined for Division I in 2010. Germany's 9-0 victory over Kazakhstan on December 27, the goals from which are counted in the relegation round standings, gives it an advantage in terms of tie-breakers in that scenario.

But when German coach Ernst Hofner was asked afterwards if he believes in miracles, as in a Kazakh victory over Latvia, he replied: "No, I do not."

Finland struck quickly midway through the first period. Goals just 22 seconds apart by Tommi Kivisto and leading scorer Teemu Hartikainen, who had seven points in his last two games, gave the blue-and-white squad a 2-0 lead.

Germany cut the deficit to 2-1 when Jerome Flaake scored at 9:39 of the second period.

Embattled German goalie Timo Pielmeier did his best to keep his team in the game, stoning Tomi Sallinen on one breakaway and making a great glove save on Joonas Rask on another. On another occasion, Pielmeier did the splits to thwart Toni Rajala, who had a wide-open net at the far post.

Discipline was a problem for Germany, as an end-of-period scrum saw David Wolf ejected with a match penalty. The Germans were also playing with a depleted roster, missing the likes of Gerrit Fauser, Florian Muller, Maximilian Forster, and Simon Fischhaber, who took a shot off the ankle.

"We played well today, but we took too many penalties," admitted Flaake. "That was our main problem."

The Finnish power play kicked into gear at the start of the third as Jyri Niemi gave his team a two-goal cushion at 1:31. On a two-man advantage, he wristed it home high while totally uncovered in front of the German net.

Netminder Juha Metsola earned his third tournament victory as Finland outshot Germany 38-26.

"When we entered the relegation group, we really felt bad," said Hartikainen. "There was no New Year's party at all. But I feel better now."

When asked whether he felt Finland should have scored more on Germany, Hartikainen said: "We scored enough for the win today, eh?"

The Finns finished sixth at the World Juniors the last two years. They have not captured a medal since 2006 (bronze) and haven't won gold since beating the Russians in overtime on home ice in 1998.

Germany earned promotion to the 2009 elite division with five straight wins and a 42-6 goal differential as the host team of the Division I tournament in Bad Tolz between December 9 and 15, 2007. If relegated, the earliest Germany can return to the World Juniors will be the 2011 tournament in Buffalo, New York, USA.

Since debuting at the World Juniors in 1992, the Germans have never finished higher than seventh (1992-95). After that, they were relegated in 1998, 2003, 2005, and 2007. Excluding 1998, they were never actually last overall when being relegated, however.


(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

No comments: