photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andre Ringuette
It appeared the Slovaks might be able to fight back.
Down three goals late in the first period to Finland, Slovakia won a faceoff draw in the Finland end and Tobias Tomik found himself with a Grade A chance in front of Finnish goaltender Petteri Rimpinen. Tomik shot once and jammed at his own rebound but Rimpinen turned him away.
The Finns collected the puck and headed the other way and, moments later with the action back in the Slovak end, Konsta Helenius collected the puck off the half wall and made a nice pass to Joona Saarelainen. He buried it from the slot to make it 4-0, a lead the stingy Finns would hold to the end of the game for another win at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship.
Saarelainen's goal capped a strong first period by Finland that gave the large crowd in Espoo just another reason to cheer and send their boys to the dressing room feeling good about their game.
Finland’s win temporarily moved it into first place of Group A at 3-0, with the United States (2-0) facing Latvia later today. The loss is costly for Slovakia, which now faces a crucial game on Tuesday against Norway which could decide which team moves on to the quarterfinals.
Kasper Pikkarainen and Emil Hemming both scored goals on powerplays and Heikki Ruohonen scored even strength for Finland’s other goals in the first.
Slovakia goaltender Martin Haronik was kept busy early and often in the game and, were it not for his play, the score would have been much more out of hand. Some of Haronik’s finest work came in the second period, when he stopped all 11 Finnish shots he faced. The best flurry came midway through the period when Haronik stopped Finland’s Daniel Nieminen not once, not twice, but three times before covering the loose puck.
Haronik ended up facing 41 shots and stopped 37 of them. At the other end, Rimpinen earned the shutout but only faced eight shots, another example of the strong defence Finland has had throughout the tournament.
Through their first three games at U18 Worlds, the Finns have given up just one goal, fewest in the tournament, and the storyline to watch on the final day of preliminary-round play on Tuesday will be Finland’s defence versus the United States’ offence as the top two teams in Group A are set to meet. That game should determine who finishes first in the pool heading into the quarterfinal round.
Finland’s other wins have come against Norway (7-0) and Latvia (3-1).
Down three goals late in the first period to Finland, Slovakia won a faceoff draw in the Finland end and Tobias Tomik found himself with a Grade A chance in front of Finnish goaltender Petteri Rimpinen. Tomik shot once and jammed at his own rebound but Rimpinen turned him away.
The Finns collected the puck and headed the other way and, moments later with the action back in the Slovak end, Konsta Helenius collected the puck off the half wall and made a nice pass to Joona Saarelainen. He buried it from the slot to make it 4-0, a lead the stingy Finns would hold to the end of the game for another win at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship.
Saarelainen's goal capped a strong first period by Finland that gave the large crowd in Espoo just another reason to cheer and send their boys to the dressing room feeling good about their game.
Finland’s win temporarily moved it into first place of Group A at 3-0, with the United States (2-0) facing Latvia later today. The loss is costly for Slovakia, which now faces a crucial game on Tuesday against Norway which could decide which team moves on to the quarterfinals.
Kasper Pikkarainen and Emil Hemming both scored goals on powerplays and Heikki Ruohonen scored even strength for Finland’s other goals in the first.
Slovakia goaltender Martin Haronik was kept busy early and often in the game and, were it not for his play, the score would have been much more out of hand. Some of Haronik’s finest work came in the second period, when he stopped all 11 Finnish shots he faced. The best flurry came midway through the period when Haronik stopped Finland’s Daniel Nieminen not once, not twice, but three times before covering the loose puck.
Haronik ended up facing 41 shots and stopped 37 of them. At the other end, Rimpinen earned the shutout but only faced eight shots, another example of the strong defence Finland has had throughout the tournament.
Through their first three games at U18 Worlds, the Finns have given up just one goal, fewest in the tournament, and the storyline to watch on the final day of preliminary-round play on Tuesday will be Finland’s defence versus the United States’ offence as the top two teams in Group A are set to meet. That game should determine who finishes first in the pool heading into the quarterfinal round.
Finland’s other wins have come against Norway (7-0) and Latvia (3-1).