A fourth World Cup victory for the Finland national ice hockey team could not have been more emotional. Prime Minister Sanna Marin was not deterred when Sakri Maninen shot Olympic champion in Tampere for the world championship title on Sunday evening. Along with 11,486 other spectators in the arena, the 36-year-old erupted into mass cheer after a 4:3 spectacle after extra time against Canada and sang the national anthem aloud a short time later. Germany were knocked out by the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
“It’s the best feeling you’ve ever had to have a gold medal hanging around your neck in your own field,” goalie Maninen said after scoring in the seventh minute of extra time. Sweden last managed to win the World Cup in front of its own fans in 2013. “I don’t know what happened there. I just looked at the goal and enjoyed the moment,” said defender Sami Watanen. Not only was it clear to him that this would be the start of a long night: “We’ll start with the beer and then see how it ends.”
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A year earlier, Finland, the current ne plus ultra in world ice hockey, had lost the World Cup final against Canada in Riga, at that time also after overtime. Beijing’s 15 Olympic champions, who had been reinforced with some NHL stars, now managed to take revenge – with a delay. The Finns felt like home world champions until 132 seconds before the end of regulation time, before two late goals by mentally strong Canadians again raised doubts. “I’m empty right now. I really feel every emotion I have,” Mannin continued to score the winner from the excellent Mikel Granlund after using a controversial penalty against 27-time champions Canada.
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Finland and Canada have met in the finals four times in the last six World Cups. As in 2019, the Finns won their national sport. Besides Maninen and Granlund, who scored twice in the final, national coach Jukka Jalonen and captain Valtteri Filipula can now feel like national heroes. After 2011 and 2019, Jalonan is now a three-time world champion coach, Triner is an Olympic champion and has…
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