Hannes Bjorninen of Finland (C) competes during ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Li An)
BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Finland edged past defending champion the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 2-1 to get its first ever Olympic ice hockey gold medal at Beijing 2022 in the men's final on Sunday.
Before the final, Finland, the second in the world rankings, has never won an Olympic ice hockey gold medal since it entered the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) family during the Olympics in St. Moritz in 1928, and it got a silver medal at Turin 2006 after losing to Sweden in the men's final. The U.S. and Canada split the seven women's titles since the women's program made its debut in 1998.
The Finns won all the five games before the final, and defeated Slovakia 2-0 in the semifinals, while the Russians edged past Sweden 2-1 in shootout to reach the final.
Athletes of Finland celebrate scoring during ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
Athletes of Finland react before ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
Athletes of ROC react before ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Li An)
Valtteri Filppula of Finland (L) vies with Anton Slepyshev of ROC during ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
Pavel Karnaukhov (R) of ROC reacts during ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
Ville Pokka (1st R) of Finland competes during ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
Iiro Pakarinen of Finland (R) vies with Pavel Karnaukhov of ROC during ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
Sakari Manninen (2nd R) of Finland vies with Arseni Gritsyuk (1st R) of ROC during ice hockey men's gold medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Finland and ROC at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)■