The Finnish men's ice hockey team defeated Slovakia by a score of 6–1 in the bronze medal match at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, bringing Finland's medal tally to six.

That number was the Finnish Olympic Committee's medal goal – a modest target set following the 2024 Paris summer games, when Finland for the first time ever failed to win a single medal.

Finland’s northern neighbour, Norway, has won the most medals at the Italian games, scooping up 40 as of Sunday morning, 18 of them gold. Another neighbour, Sweden, has racked up 16 medals.

The hockey medal is Finland's eighth in Olympic men's ice hockey, but its first medal in any men's international tournament since 2022.

The Lions won gold in Beijing 2022, silver in Calgary 1988 and Turin 2006, collecting bronze medals in 1994, 1998, 2010 and 2014.

Most medals in NHL-powered Olympic tournaments

This was the sixth time that NHL professionals took part in the Olympics, with Finland winning the most hockey medals at these Games, five. The Lions only went home empty-handed from the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

The Finnish men’s hockey team has never lost an Olympic bronze medal match.

It narrowly missed a spot in this year's final, having led 2–0 in the semi-final against Canada, but falling to a 2–3 defeat in the last minute on Friday.

On the final day of the Olympics, Canada and the United States play the all-North-American final, broadcast on Yle TV2 and Areena starting at 3pm Sunday.

Before that, three Finns took part in the women’s 50km classic cross-country ski race. They included Kerttu Niskanen, who ended up in seventh place after winning a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics four years ago.

The closing ceremony starts at 9.30pm.

22 Feb, 1.26pm: Updated with Niskanen's ranking.