News of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk and Riga

MINSK, 26 May (BelTA) – Penalties failed Team Finland in the final, Finnish head coach Erkka Westerlund told media after Finland’s 2-5 loss to Russia in the 2014 IIHF World Championship final on 25 May, BelTA has learned.

The Finnish specialist congratulated Team Russia on the victory taking note of their good players and a good team. He lamented that his team spent too much time in the penalty box stressing that Russia had enough experienced players to take advantage of the situation. The coach added that talking to his men after the match he first of all thanked them for the game.

The Finnish coach did not judge the referees leaving the issue without comments.

Erkka Westerlund gave generous praise to the Russian team. In his words, it is hard to talk about any system in respect to Team Russia. They have many creative players who act depending on the situation, he said.

Erkka Westerlund also hailed a high level of the world championship in Minsk. He stressed that all the teams had chances to win and that is it actually very good for the hockey.

Finland fell 2-5 to Russia in the final of the 78^th IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. The match became the last for Erkka Westerlund behind Team Finland’s bench. The coach said he enjoyed working with great players and expressed gratitude to them and the ice hockey federation for the opportunity to coach the Finnish national team.