Finland Dominates Canada in 6-3 Win at World Juniors Summer Showcase

Finland took on Canada in the second game on the fourth day of games at the World Juniors Summer Showcase. All the big names we saw the day before in the all-Canada game were back, like Matthew Schaefer, Gavin McKenna, Cayden Lindstrom, etc. Carter George was in the net for Canada while Kim Saarinen was in for Finland. In the third period, Jack Ivankovic took over in the net for Canada, but Finland remained the same.

Related: 3 Takeaways From Third Day of Games at the World Juniors Summer Showcase

The game started smoother than the first game of the day and stayed relatively normal penalty-wise. There were some big hits, but the extra activities after the whistle were far less than the game before. Canada got on the scoreboard first, but Finland answered back with three of their own. They added a fourth in the third period and looked like they had the game in hand. Canada did find he back of the net once, but couldn’t do it again. Finland added another goal, followed by another for Canada, but Finland took the win 6-3.

Game Recap

As we saw yesterday, Canada plays a very smooth-flowing game, and that was seen in the first period against Finland as well. Canada got on the board first with a goal by Porter Martone to make it 1-0. The lone assist went to Kashawn Aitcheson. Finland responded within two minutes with a goal by Atte Joki. He was assisted by Onni Kalto and Niklas Kykyri to tie things up 1-1. Finland kept the momentum going as they added not just one but two more goals before the end of the period. 

The first of the two goals went to Kalto, that line’s second of the night. Joki, the first goal scorer for Finland, had the lone assist. The second goal was scored by Aatos Koivu on the power play. He was assisted by Daniel Nieminen and Kasper Pikkarainen to make it 3-1 going into the second period. 

The second period was a lot quieter than the first, with just one goal and one penalty. The penalty was a five-minute major and misconduct against Joki, who’d had a strong game prior to the penalty. Finland scored the lone goal of the period, and it came in the second half of their five-minute penalty kill. Kalto recorded the shorthanded goal and was assisted by Benjamin Pietila to make it 4-1, and that’s how the period ended.

Koivu added a second goal in the opening minute of the third period to extend the lead to 5-1. The lone assist went to Heikki Ruohonen. Canada added one more goal by Michael Hage to make it 5-2. He was assisted by Cole Reschny and Sam Dickinson. It wouldn’t be enough, however, as Finland added another goal while on the power play to make it 6-2. The goal was scored by Jasper Kuhta, he was assisted by Lasse Boelius and Matias Vanhanen. Canada snuck in one more goal by Cole Beaudoin to make it 6-3. He was assisted by Reschny and Henry Mews. That turned out to be the final goal, and Finland won 6-3.

Both of these teams will have practice tomorrow, Thursday, July 31, but will return to game action on Friday, Aug. 1. Canada will be the first game of the day against Sweden, followed by USA against Finland.