Finland and Sweden were the first semi-final matchup of the day at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 4. It looked like it was going to be a pretty even match-up, and as the game unfolded, that’s exactly how it played out. Sweden scored, then Finland scored, and so on.
Going into the final period, Sweden did have a one-goal lead. Finland found a way to tie the game late and forced both overtime and a shootout. Finland had the lead in the shootout until Sweden’s final shooter extended it and went on to take the win in the sudden-death round. It was an entertaining game from start to finish, and in this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways for Finland, starting with how close the game was.
Finland Held On
Sweden came into this game undefeated, and they showed why when they took on Finland. It was a close battle, which was expected, but Sweden did pull ahead first, and when they’ve done that, they’ve been hard to beat. Neither team looked exceptionally better than the other, and they both had times where they controlled the play. It was a lot of back-and-forth action where either team could’ve gotten the win.
What was most impressive about Finland’s game was that they kept bouncing back after every time Sweden scored. They never let them get more than a one-goal lead and didn’t sit back on their heels. Sweden may have gotten the win, but Finland made them earn it.
“I think you said it well, not the result we wanted, not the ending we wanted, but at the end of the day, it was a hell of a hockey game, two outstanding teams playing…Right now I’m 100 percent sure, two days ago I wasn’t 100 percent sure, right now I am 100 percent sure that everybody watching this game today, whether live here or from television or whatever it was. I think this was one of the craziest hockey games I’ve ever witnessed, and you’ve gotta give credit to Sweden, they did their job really well, and obviously I think they deserved to win, and at the end of the day, you gotta respect a team that comes out with the win…,” said Aron Kiviharju about the game overall.
Finland’s Goaltender Stood Tall
After a very rough opening goal that gave Sweden the lead, Finland’s goaltender Petteri Rimpinen stopped a lot of difficult shots. The opening goal was somewhat of a mistake on his part as he tried to shoot the puck and missed, but his team stepped up and tied the game to help make up for it.
As his teammate Kiviharju pointed out, he stopped multiple breakaways throughout the game and overtime and then stood on his head the best he could throughout the shootout. The final shot in the shootout was a tricky shot that would’ve been a miracle to save. He made some amazing stops for his team, and although they didn’t win, he and his teammates should be proud.
“Outstanding, I don’t know if he’s a magician or what he is….” said Kiviharju about their goaltender, and he continued, “He’s outstanding, he gave us a chance to win tonight, once again I think Viggo Björck had like maybe five breakaways in the OT…”
Finland Has One More Game
Although they won’t be playing for gold, Finland will still play for a medal. It may not be the one they hoped for, but it’s still better than finishing outside the top four. They knocked out Team USA and almost succeeded in taking out Sweden. Again, the goal of this tournament is to win and be the best, but coming home with third isn’t bad at all.
Neither team dominated the game, but Finland did start to control in the third period and part of overtime, but they couldn’t come out with the win. Regardless, they earned themselves one more game to play, and they aren’t done yet, according to their captain.
Related: Guide to the 2026 World Junior Championship
“Yeah, one as I said, unfinished business we gotta take care of to get the bronze medal. Just try to figure out a way, I think…Canada and Czechia will play in half an hour and then we get a bit more time to rest so let’s at least try to use that one for tomorrow like I said, every time you finish even at the top four it’s a great accomplishment as I said the job is not finished yet…,” said Kiviharju about the possibility of coming home with a bronze medal.
Finland will finish their tournament in the bronze medal game on Monday, Jan. 5, against Canada. If they can play as they did in the third period against Sweden, there’s a strong possibility they’ll come home with the bronze medal and finish the tournament on a winning note.
