Swiss miss out on bronze

Finland's Tuomo Ruutu (left) and Swiss Severin Blindenbacher fighting for the puc in Pardubice Keystone

The Swiss junoir ice hockey team have lost their bronze medal fight in the under-20 World Championships in the Czech Republic.

In their quest for third place in Pardubice, Köbi Kölliker’s team lost 5-1 against Finland leaving the youngsters to return home empty-handed.

The match was easy to predct from the start with the Finnish side scoring three goals in the first period.

After Tuomo Ruutu scored the first goal in the 14th minute, he netted the puc again in the 19th minute, closely followed by a goal from teammate Jussi Jokinen. Thomas Nüssli saved the Swiss team’s honour by scoring their only goal in the 36th minute.

Despite the fact that the Fins were obviously the stronger players, the Swiss team played well together and showed great team spirit.

However, the team lacked key players such as David Aebischer or Michel Riesen, who played in the U20 World Championships in 1998, when the Swiss won the bronze medal.

Kölliker, the youngsters’ coach, was disappointed with the outcome of the match, but pleased that the team had got to such an advanced stage of the competition.

“Of course, we were hoping for that medal. However, we have done something for Swiss ice hockey,” he said after the match.

swissinfo with agencies