USA Takes Down Jokipakka and Finland

Team USA 3, Finland 2

In the final game of the pre-tournament leading up to the WCOH, Team USA hung on for a 3-2 win over Finland Tuesday night. Team USA stormed out to a dominating 3-0 lead before barely holding on in the end. Johnathan Quick was rock solid for the first two periods as Team USA exerted their will on the team of Finnish stars. Ryan Kesler, Derek Stepan and T.J. Oshie found the back of the net for Team USA staking them to a commanding 3-0 lead after 2 periods. Things settled in for a good chunk of the 3rd until Patrik Laine found the back of the net midway through the 3rd to get Finland on the board. With the score 3-1 and a little over 4 minutes remaining in the game, Finland’s Jussi Jokinen beat Johnathan Quick to get the Fins within a goal, but that’s all they would get.

For Flames fans interest, Calgary defenceman Jyrki Jokipakka had a quiet evening for Team Finland with 0 points in the game. He registered 15:03 of ice time, which put him middle of the pack for all players on Finland and managed 1 shot and 3 blocked shots. He did put Ryan Kesler in the net with a nice check on the crease during a scrum out front. That made this Flames fan chuckle and was his standout moment of the game.

The World Cup Of Hockey, in earnest, begins Saturday, September 17th when Team Europe battles Team USA at 3:30pm on ESPN 2.

Keep it here in the coming days for full schedules and coverage of all the Flames players playing in the WCOH.

by Mark Parkinson