Finland beat Russia without putting the puck in the net, a breakdown
What Happened
Finland and Russia are facing off in the championship game of the Channel One Cup international hockey tournament in Russia. The game is tied 2-2 as it goes to overtime, which features 3-on-3 play. Russia has possession and is making a dangerous push, with one of their players dangling the puck deep in the Finnish zone. However, the Finnish defense collapses well and blocks the passing lane, forcing the Russian player to hold the puck a bit too long. The Finnish defender then makes a smart play, getting his stick down to disrupt the passing attempt and ultimately block the shot. With Russia still in control, they decide to pull their goaltender, going with a 4-on-3 attack in search of the game-winning goal. The Russian players pass the puck patiently, waiting for the perfect opportunity to shoot at the open net. Finally, one player decides he's waited long enough and forces a shot, but it hits a Russian player in the backside, leading to a Finnish breakaway. As the Finnish player races in on the empty net, a Russian player trips him, resulting in a penalty. The referee immediately signals a goal for Finland, as the rules state that with the goaltender pulled, a trip that denies a clear scoring chance is an automatic goal award. The Finnish player who was tripped calmly skates in and taps the puck into the net to clinch the victory for his team. While the Finns celebrate their championship, the Russian players appear dejected, likely regretting their decision to pull the goaltender in a tied overtime game. It's an unusual and somewhat anti-climactic ending, but Finland emerges victorious without ever actually putting the puck in the net themselves.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentthis is the channel one cup uh
international tournament that happens in
russia every year this is russia and
finland they're tied two goals apiece in
overtime which is a three on three
affair and russia they're wearing cccp
throwback uniforms which i don't i don't
know all about that but they have a good
chance to score here look at this this
guy drags this defender too deep this
guy's got to commit which one's he going
to guard these two can play a little
pong with them so they drop it back to
him he does one move to the backhand and
then he should have passed it right away
takes a little longer finally passes it
uh but the goalie slides into perfect
position and the
the finished defender has his stick down
to block this pass and then eventually
block this shot which who knows if that
was going to go and so great job by
finland there bad job by russia but
because they have control of the puck
they have decided to pull their goalie
and go four on three so now they're tied
in overtime of the championship game
and they have an empty net so possession
is important and they're really just
going to have to score
right now and make it worthwhile this is
a new strategy i guess some coaches are
doing so they pass around wait for the
perfect opportunity pass around wait for
the perfect opportunity this guy says
through perfect opportunity i'm just
gonna force it which is an awful play
especially with what's on the line but
they regain control and they pass it
they pass it they pass it and then he
says screw perfect opportunity i'm just
gonna force it shoots it hits that dude
in the ass now there's a fast break the
other way he's got the puck the empty
net is there
uh oh
tripping penalty which not only means
penalty it means game over because if
there's a penalty with the net empty
it just means the goal is rewarded
so that's how this whole tournament
ended and look he gets the puck first
which i thought for a second would
matter but the rules say
that if in the opinion of the referee a
player makes contact with the puck first
and subsequently trips the opponent in
doing so no penalty shot will be awarded
but a minor penalty because i thought
well it's got to be a penalty shot but
there's no goalie on the ice so it's a
pretty easy penalty shot but they do
confirm that if
when the opposing goalkeeper has been
removed from the ice a player in control
of the puck in the neutral or attacking
zone is tripped or otherwise fouled with
no opposition between them and the
opposing goal thus preventing a
reasonable scoring opportunity the
referee shall immediately stop play and
award a goal to the attacking team
writing rules and being a lawyer
it sounds so exhausting huh so anyway
that's how this whole thing ends and
that dude's gotta make up his mind is he
gonna go left with his head is he gonna
go right with his head he chooses to go
left he gets his hands in the net he
scores himself he gets up and i don't
know they won but no one is truly
excited it's like a walk-off walk or a
walk-off block in baseball
it's like all right we did it we won but
all right and even the russian team's
like okay we lost uh weird strategy
maybe don't pull the goalie in a tie
game again and and lose the puck so yeah
that's just an interesting thing that
happened in hockey that someone put in
the request for him and thanks because i
didn't know
i never seen a gold medal game one
without putting the puck in the net
before it's my first time
if it's your first time comment below
and we'll all
enjoy it together