Canada whoops it up after Gavin McKenna (#9) draws first blood for the hosts in a 4-0 win over Finland on Day One of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Gavin McKenna delivered the first-period winner as the host nation started off strong, beating Finland 4-0 at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship on Thursday.
Easton Cowan, Luca Pinelli, and Matthew Schaefer also scored. Goalie Carter George earned a 31-save shutout in his World Junior debut in front of a partisan Ottawa crowd of 17,997 and was named Canada's player of the game.
McKenna hailed George, with whom he won a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Finland: "He's unbelievable. He's so calm in the net, and he's a special talent."
It was a promising omen to get early production from McKenna, the wunderkind WHL forward who is currently rated as the number one prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft. To secure a solid three points with a balanced attack versus Finland, the only non-North American nation to win the World Juniors (2014, 2016, 2019) since Sweden's 2012 victory, was even bigger. Canada next faces Latvia on Friday.
Of debuting with a shutout, George said: "It's something you dream of as a kid, and for it to actually happen, it doesn't really feel real. It's definitely special. I can't thank my team enough. They blocked a lot of shots today."
After a disheartening fifth-place finish last year, the Canadians are on the hunt to capture what would be an all-time leading 21st World Junior gold medal. They outshot Finland 41-31 in their Canadian Tire Centre opener.
As head coach, Canada's Dave Cameron previously led his nation to gold in 2022 and earned silver in 2011. Cameron, 66, was an assistant coach with the 2009 team that won gold in Ottawa and the 2010 squad that took silver in Saskatoon. This Boxing Day victory was a good first step on the road to hopefully returning to the final. The Canadians were golden on home ice in both 2022 (Edmonton) and 2023 (Halifax).
The Finns are hungry to get back on the medal podium after going home empty-handed in 2023 (fifth place) and 2024 (fourth place). Their last of five gold medals all-time came in Vancouver in 2019. Here, they clearly have work to do after struggling to generate offence on Day One.
"We should just keep chipping away, play the same game," said Finnish goalie Petteri Rimpinen. "George played great. So hopefully we'll find a goal in the next game [against Germany on Friday] pretty early that will ease up the pressure."
In a first period where the teams traded fruitless power plays, Canada carried the play, outshooting Finland 17-6. Rimpinen, a World Junior rookie from Kiekko-Espoo, battled valiantly, but he couldn’t stop two of Canada’s most-vaunted 17-year-old prospects from creating the first goal with 52 seconds left in the period.
Schaefer, a budding superstar blueliner with the OHL's Erie Otters, found an unguarded McKenna to Rimpinen’s left. The WHL's leading scorer with the Regina Pats showed great patience, burying his own rebound even as blueliner Daniel Nieminen tried to play goalie in Rimpinen’s crease.
"Schaefer made a beautiful pass," McKenna said. "Great seam. And then I tried to open the five-hole up a little bit. He didn't open it, so I shot it and got the rebound and just put it in."
Early in the second period, Rimpinen was equal to the task when Ethan Gauthier went to the backhand on a breakaway. But he couldn't stop Cowan from tallying unassisted on a blocker-side laser off a Finnish defensive-zone turnover at 5:22.
The 19-year-old Cowan, one of four returning players for Canada, gained renown recently for his 56-game point streak spanning two seasons with the OHL's London Knights, exceeding the 55-game streak Doug Gilmour had with the 1982-83 Cornwall Royals.
After George denied Heikki Ruohonen on a mid-game shorthanded breakaway, the Canadians failed to cash in on two power plays in the second half of the middle frame. Berkly Catton had a fabulous opportunity right in front of Rimpinen, but the Finnish goalie said no.
The Finns picked up their game in the third period, including a dangerous Benjamin Rautiainen power-play one-timer that George foiled. But it was too little, too late. Pinelli made it 3-0 with 4:46 remaining, pointing jubilantly to defender Caden Price, who set him up in close with a sweet little dish.
"I liked the whole team tonight," Cameron said. "Timely scoring throughout. It was good to see Pinelli's third goal go in. It took a little bit of the heat off."
On a late penalty kill, the Canadians buckled down with shot blocks and excellent goaltending from George to preserve the shutout as the fans roared. Schaefer added the empty-netter with 19 seconds left.
Finland’s last victory over Canada was on 2 January, 2019 when Toni Utunen’s 2-1 overtime winner eliminated the host nation in the quarter-finals. Since then, Canada has won six straight times, including the thrilling 2022 gold medal game in Edmonton where Kent Johnson potted the 3-2 sudden-death goal.
The pre-game opening ceremonies included words of welcome from IIHF Senior Vice-President Petr Briza and Ontario dignitaries, along with a live performance of “What Are You Waiting For,” the official tournament song, by Universal recording artist Sofia Camara.
Easton Cowan, Luca Pinelli, and Matthew Schaefer also scored. Goalie Carter George earned a 31-save shutout in his World Junior debut in front of a partisan Ottawa crowd of 17,997 and was named Canada's player of the game.
McKenna hailed George, with whom he won a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Finland: "He's unbelievable. He's so calm in the net, and he's a special talent."
It was a promising omen to get early production from McKenna, the wunderkind WHL forward who is currently rated as the number one prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft. To secure a solid three points with a balanced attack versus Finland, the only non-North American nation to win the World Juniors (2014, 2016, 2019) since Sweden's 2012 victory, was even bigger. Canada next faces Latvia on Friday.
Of debuting with a shutout, George said: "It's something you dream of as a kid, and for it to actually happen, it doesn't really feel real. It's definitely special. I can't thank my team enough. They blocked a lot of shots today."
After a disheartening fifth-place finish last year, the Canadians are on the hunt to capture what would be an all-time leading 21st World Junior gold medal. They outshot Finland 41-31 in their Canadian Tire Centre opener.
As head coach, Canada's Dave Cameron previously led his nation to gold in 2022 and earned silver in 2011. Cameron, 66, was an assistant coach with the 2009 team that won gold in Ottawa and the 2010 squad that took silver in Saskatoon. This Boxing Day victory was a good first step on the road to hopefully returning to the final. The Canadians were golden on home ice in both 2022 (Edmonton) and 2023 (Halifax).
The Finns are hungry to get back on the medal podium after going home empty-handed in 2023 (fifth place) and 2024 (fourth place). Their last of five gold medals all-time came in Vancouver in 2019. Here, they clearly have work to do after struggling to generate offence on Day One.
"We should just keep chipping away, play the same game," said Finnish goalie Petteri Rimpinen. "George played great. So hopefully we'll find a goal in the next game [against Germany on Friday] pretty early that will ease up the pressure."
In a first period where the teams traded fruitless power plays, Canada carried the play, outshooting Finland 17-6. Rimpinen, a World Junior rookie from Kiekko-Espoo, battled valiantly, but he couldn’t stop two of Canada’s most-vaunted 17-year-old prospects from creating the first goal with 52 seconds left in the period.
Schaefer, a budding superstar blueliner with the OHL's Erie Otters, found an unguarded McKenna to Rimpinen’s left. The WHL's leading scorer with the Regina Pats showed great patience, burying his own rebound even as blueliner Daniel Nieminen tried to play goalie in Rimpinen’s crease.
"Schaefer made a beautiful pass," McKenna said. "Great seam. And then I tried to open the five-hole up a little bit. He didn't open it, so I shot it and got the rebound and just put it in."
Early in the second period, Rimpinen was equal to the task when Ethan Gauthier went to the backhand on a breakaway. But he couldn't stop Cowan from tallying unassisted on a blocker-side laser off a Finnish defensive-zone turnover at 5:22.
The 19-year-old Cowan, one of four returning players for Canada, gained renown recently for his 56-game point streak spanning two seasons with the OHL's London Knights, exceeding the 55-game streak Doug Gilmour had with the 1982-83 Cornwall Royals.
After George denied Heikki Ruohonen on a mid-game shorthanded breakaway, the Canadians failed to cash in on two power plays in the second half of the middle frame. Berkly Catton had a fabulous opportunity right in front of Rimpinen, but the Finnish goalie said no.
The Finns picked up their game in the third period, including a dangerous Benjamin Rautiainen power-play one-timer that George foiled. But it was too little, too late. Pinelli made it 3-0 with 4:46 remaining, pointing jubilantly to defender Caden Price, who set him up in close with a sweet little dish.
"I liked the whole team tonight," Cameron said. "Timely scoring throughout. It was good to see Pinelli's third goal go in. It took a little bit of the heat off."
On a late penalty kill, the Canadians buckled down with shot blocks and excellent goaltending from George to preserve the shutout as the fans roared. Schaefer added the empty-netter with 19 seconds left.
Finland’s last victory over Canada was on 2 January, 2019 when Toni Utunen’s 2-1 overtime winner eliminated the host nation in the quarter-finals. Since then, Canada has won six straight times, including the thrilling 2022 gold medal game in Edmonton where Kent Johnson potted the 3-2 sudden-death goal.
The pre-game opening ceremonies included words of welcome from IIHF Senior Vice-President Petr Briza and Ontario dignitaries, along with a live performance of “What Are You Waiting For,” the official tournament song, by Universal recording artist Sofia Camara.
Finland vs Canada - 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship
OF