United States, Finland clash in World Junior Final on TSN
Published
The United States looks to make history on Sunday night by winning consecutive gold medals at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship for the first time as they will take on Finland in the tournament final.
The U.S., who won gold in 2021 and 2024, reached the final with a 4-1 win over Czechia on Saturday night.
“It would mean everything," forward Gabe Perreault said of winning back-to-back gold medals. "We definitely have the team to do it. We'll be ready to go."
"That'd be unbelievable," American defenceman Cole Hutson said of going back-to-back. "Probably the last time we ever get a chance to play with a lot of those guys in the room."
Perreault had a goal and an assist in the semifinal victory
Finland reached the final with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over rival Sweden in the semifinal. Finland has not won gold since beating the United States in 2019. They last made the final in 2022, falling to Canada.
"Unbelievable," said Finland forward Emil Hemming. "I think nobody really thought we'd be in this position. But I'm super proud of our guys. We're tight as a group and played one helluva game."
Finnish goaltender Petteri Rimpinen was excellent once again, making 43 saves against Sweden for his fifth win of the tournament. He now carries a tournament-leading .935 save percentage to go along with a 2.12 goals-against average.
Finland and the U.S. faced off earlier in the tournament, with the Finns winning the game 4-3 in overtime. Finland has not lost since falling 4-0 to Canada in their first game of the tournament.
"Many times you need the time to grow up together," head coach Lauri Mikkola said. "That first game was the big lesson for this team. After that, we are doing lots of things right. This is the result."
The United States is going for its seventh gold medal at the World Juniors, while Finland will try to win its sixth.
Sweden will take on Czechia in the bronze medal game. With a win, Czechia will medal for the third consecutive World Juniors following silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024.
"They're a very skilled team," Czech forward Jakub Stancl said of Sweden. "They can play physically also. We don't want to leave Ottawa with nothing, so it's motivation to beat them. You always want to win a medal. Sadly, it's not going to be silver or gold, but we just want the bronze now."