Finland No Match for Team USA

Americans Put Away Fins Early En Route to a 6-1 Victory, Team USA to Play in Gold Medal Game on Sunday

J.M. Soden, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Feb 26, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

If you turned off your television just 13 minutes into the first period, you didn't miss much. In a flurry of goal scoring from the United States, Finland found themselves in a 0-6 hole with 7:14 left in the first period. The scoring began just two minutes into the game when Finnish goaltender Niklas Backstrom charged a loose puck, then made an errant pass that was intercepted by U.S. forward Ryan Malone. Malone quickly deposited the puck into the back of the net to put Team USA up 1-0.

After Malone's goal, there was a momentary lull in the action. Over four minutes passed before Team USA scored again on a power play goal by Zach Parise. That's when the onslaught began. Team USA scored four more goals in the first period and a total of five goals in six minutes. Erik Johnson scored on a Team USA power play, followed by two goals by young phenom Patrick Kane. Paul Stastny finished off the scoring for Team USA, making it 6-0.

Team USA outshot Finland 13-4 in the first period. After a quiet second period which featured no scoring, Finland finally got on the board late in the third period against backup U.S. goaltender Tim Thomas. Thomas, who was making his first appearance of the Olympics, surrendered the goal when a shot by Antii Miettinen ricocheted off the leg of U.S. defenseman Erik Johnson and into the top shelf of net.

Patrick Kane led Team USA with two goals and Brian Rafelski added two assists to share the team lead in scoring. Kane, Rafelski, Malone, Stastny and Parise all contributed two points in the winning effort. In net, Ryan Miller was en route to a second consecutive shutout before being pulled late in the third period. Miller saved all 18 shots he faced, increasing his save percentage to 97.2 percent in the Olympic tournament.

As Team USA looks forward to Sunday's gold medal game, they will no doubt be interested in tonight's other semifinal matchup between Team Canada and Slovakia. The winner will advance to play the U.S. on Sunday afternoon. Despite Team USA's victory over Team Canada in preliminary round play, the host country is still considered by most to be the heavy favorite for the gold.

Sources: Vancouver Olympics 2010,USA 6 - Finland 1, Box Score

Vancouver Olympics 2010, U.S. Men's Hockey, Team USA Statistics

Published by J.M. Soden - Featured Contributor in Sports

J.M. brings a unique perspective to sports writing as someone who has worked in both professional and collegiate athletics. His work has been published across many media networks, including numerous personal... View profile