2008 WUC Floorball: Update
September 15th, 2008
Home Team in a Good Form Two Months before WUC Floorball
Finnish student team players 'sandwiching' their opponent in the final match (Photo by Olli Laukkanen)
The Finnish men’s student team showed very promising form in the Gatorade-tournament, which was played in Vantaa, Finland September 5th to 7th. Some of the world’s best floorball clubs participated in the tournament, which was also the first test for the Finnish student team on its way to the 3rd World University Floorball Championship. WUC Floorball will be organized in Kuortane and Seinäjoki, Finland from November 6th to 9th. The student team started by playing 7-7 against Classic Tampere, the silver medalist of the Finnish league 2007-2008. Even better was coming, though: In the evening game the Finnish student team won 3-2 against the ruling champion of Sweden – Warberg – in a very exciting match. This victory secured that the student team would play on Sunday in the final game against last season’s Finnish champion team SSV. The final was a real thriller. The student team was already leading 5-3 in a third period, but in the end SSV showed its routine and won the game 8-6. A well-deserved second place and good results against the strong opponents did raise a smile on the faces of the student team coaches: “This was an optimal rehearsal for the home tournament. Two years ago we met the players for the first time in the airport”, head coach Petri Kettunen stated. At the same time when the men’s team was playing in the Gatorade-tournament, the Finnish female team had its training camp in the Eerikkilä Sport Institute. The final roster of both teams will be decided in few days and naturally both men and women are aiming for the gold in the championship. Strong teams from Sweden, Switzerland and Czech Republic – just to to name few – will not make it easy for the home teams, though.
More information about the 3rd World University Floorball Championship can be found on a tournament website: http://www.wucfloorball2008.com.
