Finland got early goals from Emil Pieniniemi and Arttu Alasiurua and held off a pesky German squad to win their Group A matchup at the 2025 World Junior Championship.
In last year’s tournament, Germany shocked the Finns with a 4-3 victory in the opening game of Group B. This year, Finland jumped out to the early lead and played solid defense to reverse last year’s result.
Jesse Kiiskinen scores the empty netter to give Finland a 3-1 lead with 1:17 left to go in the third. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/ACmB4Jp3ku
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2024
Both teams had played the previous day, with Finland falling to Canada 4-0 while Germany was trounced by the USA 10-4.
Finland opened the scoring when their captain, Aron Kiviharju, set up Pieniniemi for a one-timer, and his quick shot beat German goaltender Linus Vieillard under the blocker.
The Finns doubled their lead early in the second period on a beautiful three-way passing play that resulted in Alasiurua redirecting a shot that found its way into the net. German coach Tobias Abstreiter thought the play was offside and challenged. Officials, however, confirmed the call on ice was correct.
Clemens Sager scored in the second period to bring the Germans within one, but that was as close as they would get.
Germany’s best chance to tie the game came with just over four minutes left in the game when Finland’s Emil Hemming was whistled for tripping, but they could not take advantage of their man-up advantage.
Jesse Kiiskinen added an empty netter at 18:43 to seal the victory for Finland.
The Finns move to 1-1 with the Group A win, while Germany drops to 0-2. Both teams now have a day off. Finland plays the early game on Sunday against the United States, while Germany will face Canada later.
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