Finland scored three power-play goals in the second period to break a 1-1 tie en route to an impressive 6-2 win over Switzerland in Game 1 of the 2022 Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Kaufbeuren, Germany. The eight-team tournament has these two teams in a group with Sweden and Latvia, who will play later today.

"We had a very good start today," said Finland's coach Mika Marttila. "We showed we came here ready to play and ready to fight. We had a lot of energy, and the power-play goals helped. I liked how we played, especially at the start of the third period. It's the first game. We got the win. We're very happy."

"For us, it's important to establish a good level of play," offered Swiss coach Marcel Jenni. "Today, we didn't start very well. In the second period we were trying to do too much. We need to have a higher competitive level and win all those small battles. I was happy with how we played in the third. We need to play all game like that. Now we have to prepare for our next game."

The Finns finished fourth at last year’s event but started strongly today, opening the scoring with a goal just 16 seconds after the faceoff. Captain Jere Lassila finished the nice three-way passing play when he took a pass through the middle from Joakim Kemell and made a nice deke on Loris Uberti. 

The Finns dominated much of the period, moving the puck well inside the Swiss end and getting the puck out quickly from their own end. But a scrum late in the period gave the Swiss their first power play of the game, and they cashed in. Gregory Weber’s goal at 17:15 tied the score, and on the play Elmeri Laakso took an unnecessary slashing penalty to put his team down a man again. The Finns killed that one off and went to the dressing room in a 1-1 tie.

Power plays were the story of the second period as well, the Finns cashing in on three in a row thanks to undisciplined play from the Swiss. They went ahead 2-1 early in the second period when Nick Meile was whistled for tripping, and on the ensuing 5-on-4 Kemell scored at 3:52. Just two and a half minutes later, Jani Nyman made it 3-1, and at 10:58 Lenni Hameenaho made it 4-1.  

"We've been practising the power play a lot, and I thought we moved the puck effectively, especially since we had quite a few chances with it," said Finnish defender Kasper Kulonummi.

Not to be outdone, the Finns put themselves in a precarious situation moments after Hameenaho’s goal when Otto Hokkanen took a five-minute major for checking from behind, and with it an automatic game misconduct. The Finns responded by doing a masterful job of killing off the extended short-handed situation, but soon after they returned to even strength the Swiss scored to draw a little closer. Thierry Schild got the goal. 

Finland played a solid third but the Swiss had a late power play to make a game of it. However, just seven seconds after acquiring the man advantage they sqaundered it with a penalty of their own. Topi Ronni then sealed the win win an empty netter for the Finns, and Tuomas Uronen added a late tally to conclude the scoring.

"I don't think we played a very disciplined game today," conceded Switzerland's David Moser. "They were fast, and it felt like we were chasing the puck a lot."

Both teams are right back at it tomorrow. Finland will take on Latvia in the early game followed by Switzerland-Sweden. All eight teams will advance to the quarter-finals this year, and no team will be demoted.