Throughout the World Juniors tournament, we’ll be keeping track of all the action and bringing you all of the results in one place.
Sweden vs. Finland
The semifinals were finally upon us yesterday, and the first match of the day was a huge rivalry game, with Sweden and Finland facing off for a chance to punch their tickets to the gold medal game. And we’ve had some wild games already in this tournament, but this one is a strong contender for the wildest.
This game started out with a bang, with the Swedes getting themselves on the board just 36 seconds into the game on a goal from Linus Eriksson, and while they had a chance to really take off from there, the Finns did well to stick around and keep this one from spiraling early. On the heels of a good penalty kill and two chances on the power play where they were able to come up with a few good looks, the Finns steadily tilted the ice in their favor, and were able to come up with the equalizer from Atte Joki before the period was out.
The second period unfolded in a familiar feeling way — the Swedes were able to regain the lead early in the frame on a goal from Ivar Stenberg, but Jasper Kuhta delivered a prompt counterpunch for the Finns, tying things up again just 50 seconds later. Things remained pretty evenly played through much of the period, but again the Swedes were able to jump ahead with a goal from Eddie Genborg late in the frame. They would throw everything at holding on to that lead as they moved into the third period, but as things picked up in intensity, tempers began to flare and chances equally began to open up. And the Finns, who simply would not go away in this one, again found a way to claw their way back late, and Joona Saarelainen was able to capitalize on a bit of a scramble in front of the Swedish net and put away a second chance opportunity to tie the game and, ultimately, force overtime.
It was, of course, the overtime period when things really began to take off. The pace right from the jump was unbelievably high, with each team’s rush games kicking off well and a trading of breakaways set a high-octane tone for the frame. It felt like it was anybody’s game, and though the Swedes looked like they had a slight edge in picking up momentum, a slashing penalty taken by Viggo Bjork with just 2:03 left in overtime gave the Finns the chance to break this one open. And they certainly had some chances, and a handful of timely won faceoffs helped them keep possession in the zone, but a huge effort from Jack Berglund as the high man on the Swedish penalty kill to take away the passing lanes at the top effectively contained those chances to the right side of the ice, and that was more manageable to deal with. By the skin of their teeth, the penalty was killed.
In the end, this one would require a shootout, and a lengthy one at that. The Finns scored on their second attempt, but a great move from from Berglund in the fifth round tied things up for the Swedes. And after a bit more insanity — Anton Frondell hitting the goal post and Emil Hemming losing the puck on the next attempt — Frondell was able to find his moment of retribution and put his next chance away, securing a hard-fought win for the Swedes.
Final: Sweden 4 – Finland 3 (SO)
Next game up (SWE): Jan 5, 8:30 ET vs. Czechia
Next game up (FIN): Jan 5, 4:30 ET vs. Canada
Canada vs. Czechia
After the insane pace that came with the end of the first game of the day, the transition into this second game between Canada and Czechia was a bit of a letdown, at least to start. This game, by contrast, featured more of a feeling out period early, and a bit of an outright slow start for the Canadians, who really had to work to get their game going, coming off a huge win over Slovakia in the quarterfinals. Their offense looked a bit disorganized early, they were struggling to create much in the way of chances (they would come out of the first period with just six shots on goal despite also having a power play to work with in there), but their bursts of skill still broke through at times for them — they managed to get themselves first onto the board late in the period on a goal from Tij Iginla. Still coming out of that disorganized stretch with the lead was something, but that lead was also short-lived, as the Czechs were able to stick with it and continue to tack on chances before they found the equalizer with just over three minutes left in the period. And the uphill battle for the Canadians, it would seem, was set to continue.
Things began to finally pick up as we got into the second period, both in pace and quality of chances. The Czechs were able to build on their momentum and pull into the lead early in the period on a goal from Adam Titlbach, but just as quickly as they gained that edge, they let things get away from them — a slash from Petr Sikora put the Canadians on the power play, and then just 19 seconds into that, Tomas Poletin sent the puck straight over the glass on a clearing attempt, and sent the Canadians to the two-man advantage. But the story for the remainder of the frame for the Canadians would be one of missed opportunities. They were able to score on the 5-on-3 penalty, but weren’t able to pile another on to tie things up on the remaining 5-on-4, and then when they were delivered not one but two penalty shot chances around five minutes later — Michael Hage was slashed on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot, on which he was tripped by the goaltender and given a second attempt — they weren’t able to capitalize. And while they were hoping to coast into the second intermission with a tied game, an ugly turnover in the neutral zone with 42 seconds left in the period led to an easy chance for the Czechs, which they did not fail to capitalize on, in turn.
So the Canadians came out for the third period chasing, and while they were able to keep it close for much of the frame, they just couldn’t pull it together enough to really pull away in this game. Cole Reschny came up with a huge goal early in the period to tie things up, but Vjotech Cihar was able to take advantage of a bit of weak coverage on the rush to create a bit of separation and get a look one-on-one against Ivankovich, and the Czechs had the lead again.
With the third period waning, desperation was beginning to mount for the Canadians, and after a bit of good penalty killing, it was a vintage clutch Porter Martone chance that pulled the Canadians back into the game, tying things up with just 2:41 seconds remaining. It looked, then, like this game might also be bound for overtime, but that bit of jump from the Martone goal couldn’t keep the wheels from coming off on them — the Canadian defenders fell into a bit of puck watching on a slow developing rush, and with just over a minute left in regulation, the Czechs made them pay and reclaimed the lead. The Czechs would hit the empty net with 26 seconds remaining to well and truly put the game away, but the damage was done by then. It would be another disappointment for the Canadians, but a huge moment for the Czechs, who will compete for gold tonight.
Final: Czechia 6 – Canada 4
Next game up (CZE): Jan 5, 8:30 ET vs. Sweden
Next game up (CAN): Jan 5, 4:30 ET vs. Finland
