Finland beats Latvia in a shoot-out game

02 May 2011 | Henrik Lundqvist

Latvia had a 2-1 lead against Finland, but the game was tied 7 minutes before the end and Finland won in the shoot-out. Jarkko Immonen scored the game-winning penalty shot and also had a goal and an assist in regulation.

"Not a bad game by us when we won the scoring chances 36-10", says Finland's coach Jukka Jalonen. "The bad thing was that we didn't score more goals".

Finland got to play a 2-minute power-play in the overtime period when Kristaps Sotnieks got a High Sticking penalty, but there was no goal scored and the game had to be decided in a shoot-out.

Jarkko Immonen beat Edgars Masalskis on the first shot and then Teemu Lassila saves Aleksandrs Nizivijs’s shot. In the second round Mikko Koivu scored and when Lassila saved Lauris Darzin’s penalty shot the Finns had won the game.

Herberts Vasiljevs scored 2-1 for Latvia on a power-play a couple of minutes into the third period. The Latvian lead lasted for ten minutes. When Finland got a power-play 8 minutes before the end, Niko Kapanen tied the game assisted by Jarkko Immonen.

Immonen had scored the first goal of the game at 13:54 of period one. Krisjanis Redlihs tied the game for Latvia twenty minutes later. All four games were scored in power-play.

"We had many chances to score, but we weren't successful today", says Pasi Puistola. "Against the Czechs we need to be better in the attacking zone".

"Tomorrow it is timw to analyse this game", says Mikko Koivu. "We need to use our scoring chances better".

Finland will play Czech Republic for the group win on Wednesday. Latvia will need to beat Denmark to avoid the Relegation Round.