Sweden and Finland face off again at the Olympics in Italy, 20 years after their final in Turin

MILAN (AP) — Gabriel Landeskog stood on his couch as the clock ticked down to Sweden beating archrival Finland to win the gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics. The 13-year-old jumped up and down at the buzzer.

Mika Zibanejad, at 15, had two televisions to choose from for the game, one in Finnish for his mother and her family and another in Swedish for his father and his. Nine-year-old Gustav Forsling was at the perfect age to make him the biggest fan ever.

Like much of the country, they still talk about that game: Henrik Lundqvist's saves, Nicklas Lidstrom's golden goal and the outpouring of joy. On Friday, Sweden and Finland will meet again at the Olympics in Italy — a 90-minute train ride away at the Milan Cortina Games — 20 years after the bitter rivals staged one of the most memorable games in international hockey history.

"Obviously a great memory -- not just for the guys that played but for us that watched the game," Zibanejad said. “To have the opportunity to be here at Olympics back in Italy, it’s very special.”

Coach Sam Hallam knows most of his players, save for a few of the youngest, saw the game live. All of them have seen the video clips and know the importance of it to Swedish hockey history as the second Olympic gold after the 1994 Lillehammer Games.

"I remember that game very well," Sweden's Gustav Forsling said. “I think the whole country watched that game.”

Same, too, in Finland, though a hard-fought 3-2 loss and a silver medal are not remembered with such reverence there. Mikko Rantanen, now one of the best Finns in the NHL and at the Olympics, was 9 and wearing a national team jersey watching at home.

“It was a heartbreaker,” Rantanen said.

A couple of decades have passed, and this matchup is in the preliminary round and not the final with the gold medal at stake, but it comes at a critical juncture of the tournament in Milan. Finland lost its opener to Slovakia, Sweden had to rally to survive a scare from host Italy and players on either side believe the intensity and meaning of the rivalry will bring out the best in each team.

“We try to beat them like we always do," Finland captain Mikael Granlund said. “All the players, we all love to play these games. They’re always tight games. It’s going to be a fun one for us players but also for all the Finns and Swedes. There’s a lot of people watching these games. These are always exciting games.”

Finland losing its first two games in regulation would almost certainly require playing in the qualification round Tuesday rather than advancing to the quarterfinals. Sweden is also trying to get on track after falling behind against Italy, outshooting its opponent 60-22 and needing late goals to win the tournament opener.

“There was a lot of nerves the first game,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “It was a good baseline to get. It was a game that easily we couldn’t have taken much from, but I think we can take a lot from it.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics