VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Niklas Hagman scored two goals, including a beauty while sliding on one knee, in leading Finland to a 5-1 win over Belarus on Wednesday in each team’s hockey opener at the Vancouver Games.
Olli Jokinen, Valtteri Filppula and Jarkko Ruutu also scored, and Teemu Selanne had an assist to match an Olympic record with his 36th career point in five Winter Games. Mikko Koivu had three assists in a game in which the Finns outshot Belarus 28-4 through two periods and 45-12 overall.
This was an easy start for the Finns, who have drawn little attention as a possible medalist despite being stocked with NHL talent and having won a silver medal at the 2006 Turin Games.
Sergei Kostitsyn, one of only three NHL players on the Belarus roster, scored his team’s lone goal. Goaltender Vitali Koval was the difference in keeping the game from becoming a blowout by stopping 40 shots.
Koval left Selanne shaking his head at the end of the first period, when he held his ground to prevent Selanne from stuffing in a shot from in close. Koval’s best save came 2:30 into the second. He squared up atop the crease to stop Jarkko Ruutu’s rising blast from the high slot.