Even not wanting to risk the empty netter was pretty dumb in this situation, if they really were aware of how the tiebreak worked. They had almost nothing to lose by pulling the goalie, because the difference between an OT win and a regulation loss for them was needing Finland to win versus needing Finland to win in regulation. Whereas the difference between a regulation win and OT win was a clinch versus a likely elimination. I'd guess the coaching staff knew they hadn't advanced (how could they not, the league PR even tweeted clinching scenarios), but didn't fully understand the ramifications of the tiebreak scenario.
Re: Game day thread 21 Sept 2016
Even not wanting to risk the empty netter was pretty dumb in this situation, if they really were aware of how the tiebreak worked. They had almost nothing to lose by pulling the goalie, because the difference between an OT win and a regulation loss for them was needing Finland to win versus needing Finland to win in regulation. Whereas the difference between a regulation win and OT win was a clinch versus a likely elimination. I'd guess the coaching staff knew they hadn't advanced (how could they not, the league PR even tweeted clinching scenarios), but didn't fully understand the ramifications of the tiebreak scenario.