A Nicklas Lindstrom goal for Sweden at the start of the 3rd period broke a 2-2 deadlock in the Olympic final, the assists coming from Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg.
25 saves for Sweden G Henrik Lundqvist (above), including a bunch during a furious finale as the Fins tried desperately to tie the game. Lundqvist’s heroic performance was nearly matched by that of Finland’s Antero Nittymaki, the Philadelphia Flyers’ outstanding goaltender who was nearly unstoppable prior to this morning. The planet could do a lot worse that to watch these two national sides battle each other in longer series.
This was Sweden’s 2nd gold medal in ice hockey ; they beat Canada in 1994 with a team that included Forsberg, Kenny Jonnson and Jorgen Jonnson, all 3 of whom featured on the 2006 squad.
In international hockey news of a slightly less flashy variety, the Austin Ice Bats defeated the Odessa Jackalopes last night, 4-3, in the former’s final game at the Travis County Expo Center. Having been preoccupied with UT hoops and the Mosley/Vargas fight, I’m sorry to say I missed this historic event. I was unable to attend the final night of hockey at the old Maple Leaf Gardens, Montreal’s Forum or the old Boston Garden. Now, I can add the Travis County Expo Center to that storied list.