Fatigued Finns miss by an inch

TURIN (Reuters) - Finland's hockey team lost a historic first chance at Olympic hockey gold and put it down to fatigue and an inch of bad luck.

A sprawled Swedish goalie Henrik Lundqvist robbed Finn Olli Jokinen of a game-tying goal in the last frenzied minute of the Olympic final, and the team that had won seven games in a row saw its gold medal chances tick away.

"You're talking an inch," Finnish captain Saku Koivu said of the narrowly missed goal.

"You see that in the replay. And then you look down and you see Sweden celebrating the gold. It's hockey, it's sports, but it sucks."

Finland's players offered few excuses after losing 3-2 on Sunday and failing their fans who had dreamed of an Olympic victory over their bigger neighbor.

"We had heavy legs," said Finnish forward Teemu Selanne, who plays with the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

"We didn't have a normal game. There's no excuse. They had more energy, and they controlled the puck a little better and we didn't do it."

FINNS ON DEFENSIVE

The Finns conceded that Sweden put them on the defensive.

Finn forward Jarkko Ruutu, who plays for the Vancouver Canucks, said: "It's tough to play against at team that controls the puck a lot. It's tough when they control the speed. We didn't play the way we wanted to. It's tough to analyze. The bottom line is we lost, and that's it."

Koivu, who plays for the Montreal Canadiens, said Finland's difficult Olympic schedule, fatigue and a relative lack of depth took their toll.

He noted that the NHL players had little rest before the Olympic tournament, in which Finland played eight games in 12 days.

"You spend lifetime getting into the Olympics. You wish you were healthy, and rested. But that's not the case with hockey players. I hope the guys who decide the schedule for Vancouver will be more careful," he said, referring to the 2010 Olympics and echoing the thoughts of many other NHL players who would have preferred a longer break before the Olympic tournament.

Despite the intense rivalry between the two countries, Finland's players said there were no ill feelings for having lost.

"We have a lot of respect for that country. They have so many great players and their hockey is unbelievable," Selanne said of Sweden.

"We've always played so many games against Sweden, and we've always dreamed of beating them in the big games. We had a chance today, they were a little better."

One player who emerged from the tournament holding his head high was Finland's goalie, Antero Niittymaki, who had three shutouts in six games.

Although he is a reserve goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers, he was named the Olympic tournament's best goaltender.

"I think this is going to be a huge boost for him in the future," said Selanne.

"He was unbelievable. I think this will be a great confidence boost for his career and we're going to hear a lot of good things about him."