The Opening Ceremony of the 3rd World University Floorball Championships took place on Friday evening 5th of November in Kuortane Sports Hall.
The President of the Organizing Committee, Mr Tapio Korjus and Mr Marian Dymalski from the FISU welcomed the teams to Kuortane and Seinäjoki. During the opening ceremony we heard a great music performance by Johanna Pirttimäki and Seinäjoki Gymnastics team made a memorable show with beautiful music and skilful moves. The oath of the athletes was given by Mikko Helanen from team Finland and the oath of the referees by Mr Roland Servodio from Switzerland.
Teams are listening Gaudeamus Igitur
The matches started on Thursday morning in three venues at Kuortane and Seinäjoki. Here are some reports from the matches:
Finland - Hungary M (21-2)
Team Finland got a flying start to tournament
Finland dominated the game from the very beginning . In spite of that, after the first Finnish goal Hungary's Andras David came with a surprising equalizer. After this goal Finland continued to have almost all the possession, they had several chances and they shortly got a comfortable lead. The Finnish attacks were fashioned well, the Hungarian defense had serious problems sometimes. On the Hungarian side Andras David had a good match with a goal and a nice assist, on the other end Ville Lahdensuo organized the Finnish attack very well. Japan - Czech Republic M (0-16)
The tournament kicked off at Kuortane with a men's match between Japan and Czech Republic. Czech Republic took an expected victory over the ever-fighting Japan with a 0-16 (0-5, 0-8, 0-3) result.
The Czech team was clearly in control of the match from the start while the Japanese struggled to find their rhythm. The crowd was clearly supporting the team Japan by waving flags and cheering for them. It was just not enough today as the Czechs were stronger on every area of the game. The third period was only a formality as
the Czech team had a total control over the match and scored three more goals by Michal Kotlas, Matej Jendrisak and Pavel Bouska to win 0-16. Richard Michalik scored a hat trick in the match.
Czech Republic dominated the game against Japan
Japan - Sweden W (0 -14)
Japanese defenders had busy day with fast Swedish players
In the beginning of the match Sweden was more active team and they controlled the game. Sweden managed to produce a few great opportunities to score the opening goal but the Japanese goalkeeper Chika Sato was in fire. She delighted the cheering audience with some amazing saves. Towards the end of the game the Swedish possession was even more obvious as the Japanese ladies seemed exhausted. Japan again had the crowd support on their side and the team seems to have a splendid spirit. Their performance on the court wasn't too bad but it wasn't enough to challenge Sweden. The difference in the level between the two teams was clear and Sweden went on to finally win 0-14. Sweden looks like a strong candidate to win the whole tournament.
Finnish and Swiss were equally strong
Switzerland - Finland W (3-3)
The home favourite Finland opened their tournament with a match against Switzerland. Finland got off to a flying start with an early power play goal by Eija Pasanen followed by Laura Karjula`s goal after only five minutes of play. Finns had the ball possession clearly on their side for the first ten minutes and they made the Swiss team run all corners of the court. After a shaky start Switzerland managed to raise the level of their game.
An interesting third period saw two top teams fighting for an important win. Finland passed up some great opportunities to score a goal but it was Switzerland who took the 3-2 lead with a nice shot by Tosca Schäpper. But it wasn`t a winning goal as Finns fought back in to the game with a goal by Anne Suomalainen and the result was a 3-3 tie. Sweden - Finland M (1-7)
After a nice combination ball is in the net - again
Finland dominated the game both with possession and scoring chances in the first period and scored three goals. After the break the Swedish improved a lot, we could say that equal forces met with big chances on both sides. Sweden managed to play the set position game few times on the attacking half but Finland defended well and Jarno Ihme had a really god performance tonight. Sweden`s defence was not so bad during the game in spite of the relatively high number of Finnish goals. On the Finn side Seinäjoki`s Sami Koski had such positive influence on Finnish attacks and worked hard, from the Swedish team we can mainly mention the goalies, Muhic and Rudeström who both had good performance in spite of the seven goals. The final result was 7-1 for Finland.
Results of the matches in Thursday:
Men
Finland-Hungary 21-2 Japan-Czech Republic 0-16 Latvia-Sweden 2-13 Hungary-Japan 3-4 Sweden-Finland 1-7 Czech Republic-Latvia 12-3
Women
Japan-Latvia 0-14 Switzerland-Finland 3-3
Top Goalscorers:
Men
Milan Tomasik Czech Republic 2+7=9
Martin Zozulák Czech Republic 5+1=6
Johnny Kotro Finland 2+4=6
Women
Madeleine Ellilä Sweden 3+3=6
Anna Niemann Sweden 2+1=3
Louise Bäcke 2+1=3
Feelings in Thurday:
Josef Åhman Team Sweden
I m et Mr. Josef Åhm an, the Head of Mission of the Swedish Men Team , carrying a big bag of bananas and few bars of Finnish TUPLA chocolates to the dressing room s. I ask him was that the secret of Swedish success the snacks, the bananas, the chocolate Not really, this is only a part of it , he answered. I think the m ost important for the boys is the walk they go for a walk every morning, just for 15 minutes, and also before every game you could see them now, too! And the other thing is to follow the theoretical directions, given them by the trainer.
Talking about the following gam e I was wondering if the Swedish team is worried about the m atch against Finland the great derby. But Mr. Åhman just answered me that this game is important but not decisive. He told that it wasn t easy for his team to play against Latvia in the m orning, even when they won with so big difference in the points 2-13. He was satisfied from som e players m ore than from others, but he told m e there are only good players in the Swedish team , m ost of them playing for First League team s, so he couldn t choose who was the best one.
FISU attache Rossi Bliznakova, 6.11.2008
Johannes Leijonborg Team Sweden
1. Do you like it here in Kuortane?
- Yes, it`s very nice. It`s quite nice place and I like the camping.
2. Your team came here yesterday evening and you had game this morning. Are you tired?
- Yes , we travelled all day with planes and then bus and we were sitting all the time, so physical I am quite tired, my legs are hurting a little bit.
3. Did you like the opening ceremony? What are your impressions of this first day of tournament?
- I really liked the opening ceremony, everything was very well organized. I think that the whole organization of this tournament is at high level. At least those are my impressions of the first day here.
FISU attache Stanislava Zhekova, 6.11.2008
Schedule for tomorrow
Seinäjoki 10:00 Japan Finland Men Sport Centre Czech Kuortane 10:00 Sweden Men Republic Sports Arena Seinäjoki 10:00 Latvia Hungary Men Arena Kuortane 13:00 Japan Switzerland Women Sports Arena Kuortane 16:00 Sweden Finland Women Sports Arena Seinäjoki 19:00 Finland Latvia Men Sport Centre Czech Kuortane 19:00 Hungary Men Republic Sports Arena Seinäjoki 19:00 Sweden Japan Men Arena