Finland’s lionesses lose out on gold--but sill make history
Finland missed out on hockey gold on Sunday evening, but still made history in a tournament hitherto dominated by North America.
Finland’s lionesses missed out on gold at the Women's World Ice Hockey Championships on home ice in Espoo on Sunday, but were still the first team other than Canada or the US to get into the final.
The US went ahead with an Annie Pankowski goal in the second period, before Susanna Tapani equalised for the Finns. The game went to overtime, thanks in part to a superb performance from Finnish goaltender Noora Räty, before the Americans won the shootout 2-1.
Finland had already made history in the semi-finals, beating Canada 4-2 to become the first nation other than Canada or the USA to contest a world championship final.
The United States took gold in the past four tournaments, and are also the reigning women's ice hockey Olympic champions.