Finland won the first round of the Euro Hockey Tour by winning the Ceska Pojistovna Cup in Pardubice, Czech Republic despite losing the last game to Russia 6-3 on Sunday.

Finland defeated Sweden 3-2 and the Czech Republic 3-1 to claim first place after only two games. Sweden took second place, Russia third and Czech Republic fourth.

In head coach Viktor Tikhonov’s comeback on the international scene after 11 years, Russia was defeated by Czech Republic 2-1 (on overtime) and by Sweden 1-0, before finally beating Finland on the last day.

A rising star 17-year old Aleksander Ovechkin had one goal and one assist in the 6-3 win against Finland and he finished his first ever international senior tournament with one goal and two assists in three games, leading Team Russia in scoring. Ovechkin’s stats were good for second place in tournament scoring, behind Finnish defenseman Toni Soderholm who had two goals and one assist.   

Szymon Szemberg
www.iihf.com