Perhaps the biggest question for the two teams facing off in the bronze medal game Saturday in Milan – Team Slovakia and Team Finland – is how they respond having taken vastly different paths to the penultimate game of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Finland led Canada 2-0 in Friday’s first semifinal game but ultimately wore down under relentless pressure, giving up two third-period goals to fall 3-2.
The game-winner, scored by Nathan MacKinnon, was scored with Canada on the powerplay and with just 36 seconds remaining in regulation time.
Crushed? Yes, that’s a good way to put it for the Finns.
“I’m disappointed. Sad. Upset. A lot of emotions. I feel flat,” said Erik Haula who scored a shorthanded goal to give Finland it’s 2-0 lead early in the second period.
“It’s hard to feel anything right now. We lost. They’re going to the gold medal game and we’re going for bronze. I don’t feel anything,” a crestfallen Haula added.
Team Slovakia, however, was overwhelmed by Team USA losing their semifinal contest 6-2. The Slovaks managed only 13 shots on Connor Hellebuyck through the first two periods. They were 0-for-5 on the powerplay.
The Slovaks, young and with only a handful of NHL players on their roster, had been the surprise of the tournament by starting group play with a 4-1 upset win over Finland that set them on course to win their group.
The Finns would no doubt love a little payback with a bronze medal on the line.
Perhaps the youthfulness of Team Slovakia will allow them to put behind the disappointing performance against the United States more quickly and focus on taking home a bronze medal that would be seen as a significant achievement.
It would also be a surprise if the Slovaks don’t go back to netminder Samuel Hlavaj, who was pulled midway through the game. He allowed four goals on 23 shots against the U.S.
“This was probably our first bad game of the tournament and it came at a bad time. Tomorrow is a new day,” Slovak captain Tomas Tatar said.
“We have a huge game tomorrow and we’re all excited,” Tatar added. “If someone told us before the tournament that we’re going to be in this position we would definitely have taken it. So, there is no need for extra motivation, the game is there. We just have to make sure we are ready to play the right way.”
On the other hand, regardless of the circumstances of the semifinal loss to Canada, the Finns are a team laden with NHL stars and historically they have always answered the bell at these tournaments with medals on the line.
At Sochi 2014, for instance, the Finns lost to Sweden in the semifinal and less than 24 hours later beat the U.S. It would be a shock if the Finns didn’t put forth an outstanding effort Saturday.
“It’s still a medal,” Finnish netminder Juuse Saros said. “You want to bring something home. Obviously, we’re going to give everything we’ve got.”
The Finns seemed to retreat into a defensive posture after taking the two-goal lead against Canada and collected just nine shots on goal in the last two periods. If they happen to get a lead against the Slovaks it would be a shock to see them not continue to press for more offense in the bronze medal game.
(Feature photos courtesy of Getty Images)