2010 Winter Olympics Hockey: Did Finland Lose to The Swedes on Purpose?

As bitter as the rivalry is between Team Canada and Team USA, there is none more bitter in international hockey than the one that exists between Finland and Sweden.

On both teams, the term "Finn" or "Swede" is used largely as a pejorative one.

If a Swede has an off game, "Ah, he's playing like a Finn."

If a Finn doesn't pass the puck, "Hey, stop being a Swede!"

As in all sports rivalries, the animosity spills over into the fan base.  This leads to no small amount of trash-talk, put-downs, and chest-puffery.

The latest salvo in the hockey war between these two notoriously peaceful nations is that Finland threw the game against Sweden on Sunday to avoid having to play Russia or Canada in the quarterfinals.

The rumor was started by a Swedish fan on a European hockey-blog and has since spread throughout the hockey blogosphere.

This outlandish accusation has only served to stir the Finnish faithful into a lather of outrage and contempt for the Swedes, a feat in and of itself considering what already existed between the two.

However, is the accusation really outright dismissible?

The Finns had a terrible showing against Sweden on Sunday.

After starting the first couple minutes with energy and executing a solid fore-checking game, they sat back and essentially allowed Sweden to dictate the pace of the game.

Finland had five straight power plays, one of them a 5-on-3 and failed to capitalize on all of them. 

For a team that had been scoring at will and executed such precision on the power play, taking their difficulty doing so against Sweden as willful ineptitude is an understandable assumption.

The Finns ended up losing the game 3-0, not a blowout, but a bitter loss to take against the hated Swedes.

Nevertheless, is it possible that Finland threw that game in order to secure a quarter-round match-up against the Czechs?

Absolutely not.

The Swedish fan who put forth this rumor must not know much about the psyche of the Finns.

Even granting the fact that Finland may be terrified of playing Canada or Russia (and, given the veteran talent that exists in the squad, this assertion is laughable), whatever fear that had of these teams would not exceed the desire Finland has to beat Sweden when given the chance.

If Finland had defeated Sweden 3-0, but lost to Canada in the quarterfinals, the early exist would be tough take, but the win over Sweden would be a hefty and well flaunted consolation prize.

Finland flat-out fizzled against Sweden on Sunday.

It happens.

Despite all the hope and all the passion a team has, sometimes the game is off, the chemistry is just not there, and they blow it.

Suggesting the Finns intentionally lost to Sweden disrespects not only Team Finland, but the tournament and hockey itself.