Let's recap what's happened with the Finnish team so far:
-- Switzerland is a heavily mountainous country. There are lots of snow-capped
peaks and icy lakes. In addition, most (if not all) Swiss men are part of the
national army, and their basic training involves skiing and shooting. It
should make sense that the Swiss would be a formidable opponent in any contest
involving armed conflict on ice. The Finns spanked them 5-0, beating them down
so heavily in the second period that they took the third period off and went
to sauna.
-- the Canadians are legendary hockey fans, and have a formidible medal count
in this and most previous winter Olympics. They won the gold last year.
Naturally, the Finns took this as a challenge. They scored twice on them in
the first period while holding the Canadians scoreless the entire game.
-- YOu have to feel sorry for the Czechs and the Slovaks. Like the former
SOviet blocks, when their country split up, their Olympic teams were unfairly
divided into groups barely able to hold their own (the two countries have 3
medals between them, Finland has 6 total). As such, the Finns felt sorry for
their Czech oppontents, allowing them to hold a 1-0 lead against them. For
about six minutes. This would the the only time so far the Finns were ever
down a goal -- six minutes out of six games.
-- Germamy is the top total medal and top gold medal holder so far these
games. Clearly, they are the team to beat. And the Finns beat them 2-0.
-- One would assume the Italians, hosting the game and all, would have a
home-field advantage. Plus, as the host, one would also assume they'd try
extra hard to...ok, you see where this is going. The Finns whupped them 6-0,
then followed them out into the locker room and set it on fire.
-- the Americans had a disappointing 1-4-1, their only win against Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan hasn't even invented ice yet! They did, however, put up a good
fight against the Finns, scoring a total of 4 goals -- three against the Finns
and one on themselves. The high point for the Americans was when they clawed
their way to 2-2 tie at the start of the second pariod.

Finland now moves on to take the winner of the Russia-Canada match. They've
already beaten Canada once, while the Russians look fairly strong with a 4-1
record. When the Finns play their next game, they will do so with the top
scorer (Teemu Selanne) the 2nd top scorer (Olli Jokinen) the top assister
(Saku Koivu) and the runner-up in penalties (Jarkko Ruutu).

Skate for the gold, team Finland!

Shinarae Lluminus