Minnesota Wild prospect Mikael Granlund scored the game winning goal for Finland today against Russia in a 3-0 victory in the semifinals of the 2011 IIHF World Championships being held in Bratislava, Slovakia. The goal was possibly one of the greatest goals ever scored. See the video after the jump.
Bryan Vickroy
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The highlight goal from Granlund came shortly into the second period with the game still scoreless. After a faceoff to the right of the Russian net, Granlund stole the puck, split two defenseman, and cruised behind the net. Granlund then pivoted, scooped the puck onto his stick like a lacrosse player, and slammed the puck beneath the crossbar. The amazed (and throughout the entire tournament, seemingly incompetent) referees went to the video review, and declared it a goal. Finland went on to add two more goals in the third period to cement their spot in the gold medal game against arch nemesis Sweden.
Bryan Vickroy has an addiction to hockey, and is willing to partake in all its forms. He is skating extra shifts for The Sports Bank, covering the Minnesota Wild, the NHL, and NCAA hockey all year long. Look for new articles throughout the week. He can be followed on Twitter at @bryanvickroy. If you’d prefer to speak in more than 140 characters at a time to him, he can be reached at bryan.vickroy@gmail.com .