11am

Only two hours after the tournament had seen its first face-off there were 73 goals registered in the secretariats. The spectators in the three arenas could enjoy much scoring, but those who hoped for thrilling games were probably disappointed. Finland won the Scandinavian battle against Norway by 10-0, Czech Republic beat Austria 28-2, and the young Japanese team lost to the host nation by 33-0.

Finland’s Jaakko Rissanen was pleased with the game.

-  This was a fine start. The Finnish season ended a while ago so most of us haven’t played in a while, but it feels good. Norway was playing well but tactically I think we were much better.

There is no doubt what the Fins have come here to do:
- We aim for gold, definitely. We won last time, and we’re here to defend it!

The Polish women’s team faced Finland in their first game. Aniela Stelmasiewicz was engaged in the Japanese team two years ago and is one of very few in her team with previous experience from this event. I met her just before warm-up.
- Yes, this is the first time Poland has a team in the Student World Championship. We’re only 14 players but have a great spirit and look forward to play Finland. To us it’s important to stick to our tactics and enjoy this championship; the result isn’t our main goal.