Olympic Hockey Preview – Finland vs. Belarus
Hey folks, looking for the best place on the web to get your Finland vs. Belarus Olympic hockey picks, and betting analysis? You’ve found it. Dave B will weigh in with his daily hockey predictions thru to the end of the 2010 olympic hockey tournament.
The 2010 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey schedule started on Tuesday. Wednesday Feb 17th at 3:00 Eastern we get Belarus vs. Finland. We encourage you to check out Sportsbook.com and bet on the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey games and hockey lines online.
Tournament Preview: Group A features Canada, the United States, Switzerland and Norway. Group B features Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Latvia. Group C features Sweden, Finland, Belarus and Germany. After round 1 all teams are ranked. The winners of the four quarter final games will proceed to the medal round.
Finland vs. Belarus Live Odds
Moneyline: Finland -2000, Belarus +800
Spread: Finland -2.5 -145, Belarus +2.5 +105
Over/under: 5.5
Day 2 of the Olympic Men’s Hockey tournament is here and two more teams will debut their teams in Vancouver on Wednesday. One game features the Defending Silver Medal winning Team Finland playing against the 2002 Salt Lake City Cinderella’s Belarus.
Team Finland brings their typical pesky brand of Hockey into the 2010 Olympic tournament. They never been a flashy bunch but they always prove to be a medal contender. They are a team that others have to be wary of indeed.
This year’s edition of Team Finland is comprised largely of NHL talent who poses skill and experience. This team was a deserved winner of the Silver Medal in Torino and one could argue that they are an even better team this year with Mikka Kiprusoff deciding to play this year instead of taking the two week Olympic break to rest. Oli Jokinen, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne will anchor a Forward group that, although seemingly past its prime, could shine in a short tournament.
The Fins will be tough to handle and if the elite teams in the tournament stumble at any point, the Fins could pounce and surprise like they did in the Torino Games.
Their matchup with Belarus could be viewed as another one of those “tune up games” that are so prevalent in the Round Robin portion of the Olympic tournament but the Fins will not be handed a victory by Belarus. It is going to take a full team effort to beat the sneaky Belarusians and if slumping Mikka Kiprusoff is not sharp, this could be a close game.
Still, with the Offensive threats, the experience at the Olympic level and the shear will to succeed for their country, Finland should have a strong debut to the 2010 Olympic Games.
Belarus, if nothing else will have a chemistry that no other team in the tournament will enjoy. There are twelve, count them twelve players from Kontinental Hockey League’s Dynamo Minsk on the Belarus roster. That combined with a handful of NHL talent, and the Belarusians appear to be no pushovers. Goaltender Andrei Mezin has proven to be lights out in International competition and has twice been named a tournament all-star at the world championships.
He led Belarus to a huge upset victory over Sweden in Salt Lake City.
Could he do it again this year against the Fins?
This game is a tough one to call especially for betting purposes. The Fins are definitely a better team and should defeat Belarus. The margin of victory is the real key. Look for the Fins to come out strong and beat the Spread of 2.5.
As for the over/under, it might seem a bit low at 5.5, but with two experienced and internationally successful goaltenders going head to head, it’s anyone’s guess.
Belarus vs Finland Free Gambling Pick
Bet the Spread and stay away from the over/under. The Moneyline in the Round Robin portion of the tournament is a joke.
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