Hockey Lions Begin Tournament with Loss
The Finnish men's ice hockey team lost narrowly to Russia.
Image: YLE Urheilu
The Finnish men's ice hockey team lost to Russia by a score of 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night in Helsinki.
Finland led 3-0 well into the second period with two goals by Jarkko Immonen, heading into the break 3-1. Russia scored twice in the third period to send the game into overtime.
It was the Finnish Lions' first game in the annual Karjala Cup tournament, which this year serves as a warm-up and showcase for young players ahead of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, which are less than 100 days away.
On Saturday afternoon, the Lions play the Czechs in Helsinki and on Sunday afternoon the Swedes, led by NHL veteran Peter Forsberg.
The Karjala Cup is the second leg of the annual Euro Hockey Tour, which brings together the region's four top national teams for four tournaments.
Since the Karjala Cup was first played in 1996, Finland has won the series nine times, but Russia has won the last three tournaments.
Lady Lions Lose to Canada, US
On Wednesday, the Finnish women's ice hockey team lost to Canada during the women's Four Nations tournament in Kerava, Finland. Scoring two assists for Canada in the 4-2 win was Hayley Wickenheiser. In 2004, she played 10 games with a team in the Finnish men's Mestis league.
The day before, the Lady Lions lost to the USA, 4-0, in Mikkeli.
YLE, AP