Jani Nyman scored the game-tying goal late in the third period and then added the deciding goal in the shootout as Finland rallied to beat Sweden, 5-4, at the Scandinavium this afternoon. The result had several implications in the Group A standings.

It means that the hosts will finish first in the group, and it also assures Finland of a place in the quarter-finals.
If Canada beats Germany tonight, it also means Latvia will go to the playoffs while Germany is sent to the relegation game. But if Germany can get at least a point from Canada, they advance along with Finland, and Latvia is out of the playoffs.

Sweden finishes the round robin with a 3-0-1-0 record while Finland had a 1-1-0-2 run.
 

"I don't know what happened, but we weren't ready at the start," admitted Sweden forward Noah Ostlund. "We don't make to make excuses; we have to be better next time. We were vert good in the second and third, but they're a good team. We'll practise tomorrow and be ready; we don't care who we play in the quarter-finals. Our first three games were how we wanted to play but tonight it wasn't."

It seemed evident early on that Sweden was lacking its usual energy and Finland figured out as much quickly. The Finns forechecked hard and played with more intensity in the first, and they were rewarded with two goals in the back half of the opening period.

They opened the scoring at 12:25 after a faceoff win by Oiva Keskinen. Melker Thelin stopped the first shot, but the puck fell to the feet of Tommi Mannisto, and he whacked it in for a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal of the tournament allowed by Sweden after three shutouts and a goalless streak of 192:25.

The only other time Sweden recorded three blank sheets in a row was back at the 1988 World Juniors. Interestingly, they won only four games that tournament, all by shutout.

Sweden continued to play sleepy hockey and paid the price on a similar play near the end of the period. A scramble around Thelin’s crease saw Lenni Hameenaho corral a loose puck and whack it in at 18:21. It was the 1,300th goal scored by Finland in 48 years of World Junior Championship play.

"We had a pretty good start, and were up by two after the first period," said Kasper Halttunen. "It was important for us to get one goal behind their goalie. They've been playing really good  defence so that first goal was big for us."

The Swedes woke up in the second and the teams combined for a wild five goals in 20 minutes as the lead changed hands and the goals came quickly. Sverige tied the game with two goals in the first seven minutes to get the crowd into the game. First, Isac Born followed the Finnish style of goal by banging home a rebound at 3:24, and then Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored on the power play, firing a wrist shot off the short side post and in past Noa Vali, who making his second straight start.

Finland regained the lead with its own five-on-three just eight seconds after earning the advantage, again off a faceoff win. Kasper Halttunen’s big blast left Thelin waving in the wind, but the now resurgent Swedes tied the score a second time. Theo Lindstein’s quick wrister from well out found its way through a maze of bodies and equipment, dropping in under Vali’s glove.

And then the hosts took their first lead when Filip Bystedt’s low shot found the opening between the goalie’s pads at 14:53. Finland had a great chance to tie late in the game with a power play, but the Swedish PK was spot on and survived the scare. 

Coach Lauri Mikkola pulled Vali early, and the strategy worked. The Finns tied the game with 92 seconds remaining when Nyman knocked in a loose puck to make it 4-4. Neither team had a particularly good chance in the overtime, preferring the shootout to decide matters.