Day 3 of Tournament - Dec. 28, 2016

We were up and had breakfast by about 9:00 so decided to go for a walk and look at the area around our hotel. Just down the street, there is an ice rink where lots of people skate each day. Skates can be rented here, but we decided to not put ourselves through this indignity of falling down and likely hurting more than just our rear ends. Instead, we continued walking.

Our Hotel in the Background

Beside the rink area, is a major bus station, train station, and tram station. Lots of people come up the escalator pulling suitcases and wearing backpacks, so it appears that lots of people travel by train. We walked past this area, continuing on to a Marks and Spencer department store.

On entering the store, we had to go up a level to get to an area where there was some shopping. It is strangely laid out, compared to what we are used to. It seems that the store is mainly around a central square area. However, there are 4 levels in this store, and we didn't go to all of them. Instead, after determining that they didn't have the Christmas items on sale that we were looking for, we went up the escalator to another store on the 5th floor. Here we were able to spot some things, and of course, had to make some purchases.

Then it was down the escalator to the store basement, where there was a grocery market. We thought we would purchase some snacks to help fill the gap if we didn't eat supper again. We have been quite hungry after we return from the last game each night, but don't feel like eating something big at this time of day.

Back to the hotel after this. There is a really simple way to attach an HDMI cable to the TV, so I set it up and we watched another episode of "House of Cards" on Netflix. The HDMI connection is right beside our bed, and once plugged in there, the connection is made to the TV. That show depicts how awful some politicians are - dishonest and conniving. I hope it is not actually that way, but fear that there is some truth to the things shown.

One of the Vendors

By then, it was time to get ready to board the buses, and set off to the arena. We got 2 games again this time. The first was Sweden playing the US. Both teams were 1-0 going into the game, so someone would end up 1-1 after this game.

Arriving outside the Helsinki Ice Hall

The arena was very full. Lots of Swedish fans, and of course, lots of Canadian fans. It seemed like most of the Canadian fans were cheering for the Swedes, and when they scored the opening goal of the game in the 2nd period, the place erupted. The teams put on a great show. Both are fast, skilled, and intense. Each had their turn to put pressure on, and each responded by holding that pressure off

Warmup for US-Sweden Game

The Americans out-shot the Swedes by a considerable amount in the 1st period and were carrying the play in the 2nd when Sweden scored. After that, it was back and forth for the rest of the game. The Swedish goalie played very well, holding the US off the scoreboard, despite intense pressure. In the last few minutes of the game, the US pulled their goalie, but then took a penalty. Once they got control of the puck again, they again pulled their goalie, and took another penalty.

Now down 2 skaters, the writing was on the wall. Sweden generally took control of the puck and really pushed the US, not allowing them any chances. Sweden won the game 1 - 0, and the place was pretty wild. The Swedish goalie was their game star, and was deserving of the award.

Then it was "hang around" time, waiting for our game to start. We finally broke down and purchased some "very expensive" food. We got a couple small slices of pizza and a small pop for 8.50 Euros (about $13 CDN). The pizza was not great, but it did fill the gap.

The arena seemed much colder than it had the previous games, and we were chilled. We stayed on the mezzanine for much of the break, before heading down to our seats. Our section is in the zone that Denmark would be defending for 2 periods, so we hoped we would see lots of good action.

When the game started, it was clear that Canada was bigger, faster and stronger than the Danes. Both teams had some skill, but the Canadian players are clearly more skilled than most of the Danish players. The Danish goalie stood on his head and kept his team in the game. The Danes finally scored the first goal, which was deflating for our crowd and the team. Clearly the Swedish fans who had stuck around were cheering for the Danes because they got quite raucous on that goal.

After that, Canada scored to even it up by the end of the 1st period. In the 2nd period, Canada scored 4 more goals, outshooting Denmark 22-7, after outshooting them 21-4 in the 1st period. The 3rd period was similar - lots of Canadian shots and another goal. In the end, it was not an exciting game, but it was a good one. The Danish goalie was their star of the game, and it appeared that the Canadian players were congratulating him as they shook hands (at least that is what I believe they were doing).

We were tired and needed to get back to the hotel. Once we got back to the bus and started to warm up, it was difficult to keep our eyes open.