Before this second match of the Karjala tournament, Helsinki honors one of the new members of the Hockey Lions (number 277), Pekka Rinne. He represented an era in which Finland produced the best goalkeepers in the world. An era which saw him multiply international successes with a very effective system, but sometimes seen as wait-and-see or soporific, which has had its day.
New coach Antti Pennanen breaks with this tradition. Following the general trend in world hockey towards more speed, he modified the system to favor skating, the asset which had earned Finland a great hockey nation at the end of the last century, and which was less accentuated subsequently. Pennanen is the only new coach in this Euro Hockey Tour, and after two days of tournament, he is the one who is right since his team is in the lead.
The Czechs are discovering Finnish speed to their cost, as they continue to field beginners already in their thirties. Thursday it was a goalkeeper, Ondřej Kacetl (replaced today by Jakub Málek who has been playing for three years in Tampere with Ilves) but this Saturday it is a 31-year-old striker, Marek Kalus (31), who makes his first not in the national team under the eyes of his parents who made the trip.
Arriving in the team as a substitute after the withdrawal of Markus Nurmi, Kristian Vesalainen provokes the first goal by charging Kryštof Hrabík while the entire Finnish team puts pressure on the boards. The puck then ricochets off the leg of Harri Pesonen, who whips it with a wrist shot above Málek’s right boot (1-0). The second goal comes from a loss of puck by defender Ronald Knot, which Toni Rajala takes advantage of to score alone under the bar (2-0).
The Czechs return to the ice with the desire to accelerate, notably with a long offensive presence from the trio of world champions Beránek-Kondelík-Flek. But this momentum was broken by an obstruction from Radim Zohorna. In the numerical advantage, the puck circulates perfectly from Mikael Ruohomaa behind the cage to Mikko Lehtonen at the blue and then Rajala in the right circle who finds the winning deflection in front of Harri Pesonen’s goal – for a personal double (3-0). Matyáš Kantner was then sent off for charging at the head of Ahti Oksanen, who was in a low position.
The Reds continued to put pressure on goalkeeper Emil Larmi, but he proved himself worthy of Rinne’s legacy and finished with a 34-save shutout. The Finns, for their part, are much more precise in their movements: Miro Aaltonen manages to intercept in the air a cross pass in the neutral zone from Hrabík and Arttu Ruotsalainen then closes the score with a backhand placed very precisely in the top corner (4-0)
Named players of the match: Emil Larmi for Finland and Michael Špaček for Czechia.
Post-match comments :
Radim Rulík (Czechia coach): “They were faster, everywhere with a lead, and always had excellent technique at that speed. He was a very difficult opponent for us. The proof is that of the four goals conceded, we had the puck the moment before. If we had handled the puck better, we wouldn’t have given them those chances when they forced us to make a mistake. And during their power play goal, our defender [NDLR : Radek Kučeřík] should have been in the center of the slot with his player, but he arrived a little later. The Finns were simply excellent. Our speed was the same as usual, but the Finnish speed was a step above. We didn’t criticize the guys. We have a match against the Swiss ahead of us. We can’t think we’re going to beat everyone. »
photo : Czech hockey
Finland – Czechia 4-0 (2-0, 1-0, 1-0)
Saturday November 9, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. at the Helsingin jäähalli. 7114 spectators.
Referees: Daniel Eriksson and Richard Magnusson (SUE) assisted by Onni Hautamäki and Teo Mäkinen (FIN).
Penalties: Finland 18′ (2′, 10′, 6′); Czechia 35′ (0′, 8’+5’+20′, 2′).
Shots: Finland 24 (7, 10, 7); Czechia 34 (6, 10, 18).
Evolution of the score:
1-0 at 04’52”: Pesonen
2-0 at 19’36”: Rajala
3-0 à 27’32” : Pesonen assisted by Rajala and Lehtonen (sup. num.)
4-0 à 45’29” : Swedish assist d’Aaltonen
Finland (2′ for excess)
Attackers:
Toni Rajala (+1) – Juho Lammikko (+1) – Ahti Oksanen (+1)
Arttu Ruotsalainen (+1) – Miro Aaltonen (+1) – Waltteri Merelä (A, +1)
Kristian Vesalainen (+1) – Mikael Ruohomaa (+1) – Harri Pesonen (A, +1)
Petteri Puhakka (2′) – Otto Koivula (4′) – Sampo Ranta (2′)
Patrik Puistola
Defenders:
Mikko Lehtonen (C, +1, 2′) – Santtu Kinnunen (+2)
Robin Salo – Lassi Thomson
Atro Leppänen (+1) – Nuutti Viitasalo
Peetro Seppälä (+2, 2′)
Guardian :
Emil Larmi (4′)
Substitute : Harri Säteri (G). En Réserve : Rasmus Rissanen, Otto Leskinen (D), Veli-Matti Savinainen, Hannes Björninen (A).
Czechia
Attackers:
Ondřej Beránek (C) – Jáchym Kondelík (2′) – Jakub Flek (-1)
Radan Lenc – Michael Špaček (A) – Daniel Voženílek
Kryštof Hrabík (-2, 2′) – Petr Kodýtek (-2, 2′) – Matyáš Kantner (-1, 5′+20′)
Marek Kalus (-1) – Radim Zohorna (-1, 2′) – Pavel Kousal (-1)
Defenders:
Filip Pyrochta (A) – Daniel Gazda
Radek Kučerík – Jan Košťálek
Jiří Ticháček (-1) – Ronald Knot (-1)
Dominik Mašín (-2) – Libor Zábranský (-2, 2′)
Guardian :
Jakub Malek
Substitute: Ondřej Kacetl (G). En réserve : Jan Ščotka, Martin Jandus (D), Michal Kovařčík, Michal Kunc, Martin Kaut (A).
