EHM The Blue Line

Heheh... good one Kekkonen, letting some steam out...

I totally agree on this "good enough" approach. It always annoys the fudge's out of me, when after we've lost a game, we start patting ourselves in the back saying "we gave a good fight", or "hopea ei ole häpeä", which has become almost like a slogan for our national team. Free translation: "No shame in Silver"...

I don't think *this* particular silver is an object of shame. Canada was just so much better. Man-for-man, the team is superior, and they were superbly coached and played well together as a team. But things like the 1999 finals, the 2001 finals, and the Olympic final of 2006... those hurt. The 2001 final was the worst choke job of them all (they were up 2-0 after 2 periods). This one? Reality just crept up on Team Finland and had us for supper. Before the tournament I had them pegged for a quarterfinal exit.

My interpetation was that Finland in this final was too nervous to play their best for almost the whole first two periods. And Lehtonen wasn't at his best in the beginning either. The whole team was nervous and out of touch. They were tripping on the ice and fumbling away easy passes and playing carelessly, as if they had fog in their eyes. If we would've played the whole game like we did in the third period, where at times Canada was in serious trouble under Finnish pressure, we could've won, no doubt.

This waving concentration in the most important games is what frustrates me the most.

Somewhere in an earlier post in this thread I already mentioned how, I think, we tend to wake up to the game a bit too late, or stop playing too early resulting in a "good effort" - but never quite good enough...

Don't forget that Canada ALLOWED Finland to play the way they did in the third by sitting back and failing to bring up-ice pressure/forecheckers. I don't think Andy Murray was terribly happy with that--there were several opportunities to establish a forecheck and Canada passed on them to hang out in the neutral zone. Regardless, the Nash goal at the end is going to be on highlight reels until the end of time.

True, true...

Ice hockey is as much mental, as it is physical and technical sport, and at the end of the game, when Finland gained control in their rush to tie the game, Canada lost it for awhile as a team, but not as individuals when Nash showed his goal scoring talent. A good team needs good individuals and a good individual needs a good team...

What is my point?

I dunno, I just came home from work, it's 8 am, having a nice cold beer and relaxing at my armchair - I'm just rambling on, trying to make a smart impression...