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| Date | 15 May 2011 | |||||||||||||||
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| Arena | Orange Arena | |||||||||||||||
| City | Bratislava | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 9,166 | |||||||||||||||
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The2011 IIHF World Championship final was played at theOrange Arena inBratislava,Slovakia on 15 May betweenSweden andFinland.[1] Finland won the match 6–1 and became world champions for the first time since the1995 tournament, and for the second time in history. This match was Finland's first final since2007 and Sweden's first final since2006.
Finland and Sweden met in the IIHF World Championships final last time in the1998 tournament inSwitzerland. The two-game format final resulted in Sweden's victory 0–1, 0–0.
As twohighly ranked neighboring countries, Sweden and Finland have a long-running competitive tradition in ice hockey. Before the game, mainstream media in both countries titled the match "a dream final".[2][3]
| Sweden | Round | Finland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| First Round |
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| Second Round |
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| Opponent | Result | Playoff Round | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Germany | 5–2 | Quarterfinals |  Norway | 4–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Czech Republic | 5–2 | Semifinals |  Russia | 3–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The first period was goal-less, with good scoring chances at both ends. Sweden'sOliver Ekman-Larsson took a penalty at 17:52 for interference, but Finland did not manage to score inViktor Fasth's goal. In the second period at 4:41, Sweden'sMarcus Krüger took a penalty for slashing, but the Swedes were again successful in killing the penalty. After only a minute of five-on-five play, Sweden'sMagnus Pääjärvi fired a fierce shot towardsPetri Vehanen's net and scored the match's first goal at 27:40 for a 1–0 lead to Sweden.[4]
Two Finnish penalties followed, at 29:15 toNiko Kapanen for hooking, and at 34:25 toPetteri Nokelainen for boarding, but the Swedes did not manage to increase their lead despite a close call.[1][4]
Towards the second period's end, at 39:30, Sweden'sDavid Petrasek took a penalty for hooking Finland'sMikael Granlund near the Swedish goal. With only 7 seconds remaining of the second period, Finland'sJarkko Immonen did not miss a pass fromJanne Pesonen to score a power play goal to Fasth's net, tying the game to 1–1.[1]
The opening goal for Finland seemed to unleash the team's momentum, as the third period had not reached its third minute before Petteri Nokelainen scored for Finland to give them a 1–2 lead fromAntti Pihlström's pass at 42:35. Less than a minute later, at 43:21, Niko Kapanen widened the Finns' lead to 1–3 from a pass byJuhamatti Aaltonen.[1]
Before the period's half, the Swedes tried to regroup through atime-out, but the puck dominance remained with the Finns. Janne Pesonen's 1–4 goal at 56:41 andMika Pyörälä's 1–5 at 57:16 sealed the game for Finland. With 55 seconds remaining in the game clock, Antti Pihlström scored the match's last goal from a pass byJani Lajunen, ending the final in a decisive 1–6 victory for the Finnish team.[1][4]
| 15 May 2011 (2011-05-15) 20:30 | Sweden  | 1–6 (0–0, 1–1, 0–5) |  Finland | Orange Arena,Bratislava Attendance: 9,166 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Viktor Fasth | Goalies | Petri Vehanen | Referees: Darcy Burchell Brent Reiber | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| 8 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 33 | Shots | 32 | |||||||||||||||||||||
In Finland, the victory was celebrated at theMarket Square inHelsinki on 16 May. The police estimated that 90,000–100,000 people were present as the Finnish team took the stage. PresidentTarja Halonen was among the guests.[5]
