BEIJING — Finland roared back to beat defending
champions Russia 2–1 on Sunday and win the country’s first gold medal in ice
hockey, in the final event at the
Beijing Olympics.
اضافة اعلان
Russia scored first on a power-play goal by Mikhail
Grigorenko 13 minutes into the game after Finland's Hannes Bjorninen was sent
to the penalty box for high-sticking.
But the more cohesive Finnish attack controlled the puck for
much of the match and continually created chances.
The Finns tied it in the second period when a shot by Ville
Pokka squirted between the legs of a Russian defender and past imposing two-meter
(6-foot-6) goalie Ivan Fedotov.
Finland went ahead 30 seconds into the final period when
Bjorninen scored, and nearly added more down the stretch.
With the victory, Finland finally add gold to a packed
Olympic medals case in ice hockey.
The Finnish men have now won medals in seven of the past 10
Winter Olympics going back to 1988, including two silver and four bronze.
"It is hard to put in words what this means.
Hockey is
a big thing in Finland," said captain Valtteri Filppula.
"We have come close a couple of times and it is finally
nice to get the first one (gold)."
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