Finland beats Russians for its 1st Olympic hockey gold medal

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

BEIJING (AP) — The Finns are finally flying home with Olympic hockey gold. Finland knocked off the favored Russians 2-1 to win the men’s hockey tournament without NHL players at the Beijing Games. It’s the first hockey gold medal in Finnish history. The defending champion Russians had to settle for silver instead of going back to back. Respected veteran Marko Anttila assisted on Hannes Bjorninen’s golden goal. Anttila spent his first six days at the Olympics in isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus. The Olympic men’s hockey tournament unfolded in the shadow of a Russian doping saga centered around 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva.