Jenni Hiirikoski, future Hall of Famer.
She was something I'd never seen in women's hockey before.
She's crazy.
The tougher it gets, the better she likes it.
All of a sudden I was completely exhausted.
Jenni is the best defenseman in the world.
End to end, Hiirikoski, Rigsby, rebound, score!
It is the most historic goal in Finnish hockey history.
You have to give it your all when you play.
And never give up.
Finland has won the bronze medal!
at the Women's World Championships.
Here are the medals ceremony, the anthem,
and they'll go home, get ready for the Olympics.
I'm Jenni Hiirikoski, a 34-year-old ice hockey player
and I was born in Lempäälä, in Finland!
Look at this crowd of people.
Never seen this many people in my life.
I guess I should get my medal out.
Congratulations!
I was away with the National Team for a month and then,
a quick visit to Lempäälä.
Coffee for everyone?
Then head up to Luleå,
and train for 5 days before the start of the club season.
Jenni was always an active child.
When she was 2, we took her skating.
And that's how that started.
When I was 6, I joined the boys' league.
Everyone wanted to go to the NHL.
That's where I thought I was going, too.
In 1998, I was watching the Nagano Olympics on TV
and I realized women play in their own league.
And that I could do that if I tried really hard.
I'll help.
There you go. Your scarf came off too.
As a young girl, all of that was new and wonderful.
You won't pass to me?
I started to think I really could play
for the National Team some day.
Oh, no.
I still dream about playing for the Olympic gold.
Have a cheer for yourself!
And that's what I'm working towards.
Three weeks' worth of stuff.
I like driving to Luleå,
and I have to drive there quite a lot.
I wasn't paid a dime in Finland.
Only after I left for Russia and Sweden,
I've been able to get paid for playing.
I had to start my own painting and decorating company.
I did that work so I could play.
I couldn't handle it anymore.
I was 18 in 2005.
My goal was the 2006 Olympics.
I worked as a painter
and I was training a lot on top of my work.
We tried to tell her to slow down.
But she would always sneak off to train more.
In the summer of 2005, my body said no.
My heart rate was sky high
and it was a chaotic blur.
How can I move on and get better?
I felt like I was letting down all those people
who had believed in me
and worked hard to get me to the Olympics.
I started getting better little by little.
And I started to enjoy training again.
After that, I've been able to slow down when needed.
I wouldn't be here today without that experience.
LULEÅ, SWEDEN
Now we're in Sweden.
The doors still open for me.
It's a dream to play for this club.
There.
A very unique chance for female ice hockey players in Europe.
But the Olympics have always been my biggest dream
and I've got to play in amazing teams.
My first Olympics were in 2010.
We beat Sweden for the bronze.
Sochi in 2014.
Then home with the bronze win in 2018.
Best Defenseman titles,
Finnish Premiere League Championship medals,
and here's one from my very first World Championship games.
A bronze medal.
Here's one from the World Championships held in China.
A bronze medal.
They've all been a part of the journey.
1-1, overtime.
The gold medal game.
I would think that Hiirikoski's going to get a lot of ice time.
We got into overtime with USA
and we knew we still had stamina left.
The Great Law of Overtime, there often is an even-upper.
Now Hiirikoski, end to end,
Hiirikoski, Rigsby, rebound, scored!
They scored, Finland has won it!
They've won the World Championship!
History in Helsinki! Believe it!
It's happened.
Finland, you have won
the World Women's Hockey Championship.
The feeling that we actually won the World Championship
and in front of a home crowd...
We had piled up and were celebrating.
Then I saw the opposing team's captain
was talking with the referees.
And I knew it wasn't over yet.
They checked the video replay.
The US team was claiming interference of the goalie.
The minutes were rolling by
and I knew this wasn't going to end well.
And the video referee disallowed the goal.
It was a hard pill to swallow.
But I'm not bitter about it.
The United States has now won five straight world titles.
I've learned to deal with things
so they don't come back to bother me.
That silver medal feels a lot better these days.
It's probably one of the best moments in my career.
What is this meat? Reindeer?
What's this green thing?
Jenni, what is this? What is this?
A pea.
Jenni's always there for you, if I'm feeling low,
she'll give me this look
that'll put my head back in the game.
You've been my idol since I was little.
-But luckily you're big now! -Yeah!
But you're still one of my idols.
I've paid for this advertisement.
No you haven't!
Being successful as a team
and the Olympic gold medal
is what we want.
I've always wanted to go so hard
that I'll end up hitting a wall.
And that has happened before.
But I've tried to learn what's best for the team.
You can do it!
Better!
Good, Tullis!
You feel strong?
When you're a better person, you're a better player.
I have the lioness here
and the cub is below it here.
It's part of my history with the National Team,
and the way I've become a mother figure
for younger players.
I got to make sense of my own story.
It's pretty cool.
Welcome home!
Go, go, go! Come closer!
Hey, I just want to say that it feels super fun to be back
and skating together with you guys.
This is what we need for the whole season.
We have this attitude.
Good, Tullis!
This complete level.
That was fast!
This will be our thing every freaking day.
We will never give up.
Let's win, Petu, come on!
And we will always fight for each other out there.
So, good job.
Beijing, here we come.
We'll tighten our laces and give it our all.