With the crowd behind them, the Finnish hockey team defeated the United States 4-3 on Saturday morning in Tampere to reach the World Championship final.
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Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia scored the game-winning goal just over five minutes into the third period. His shot from the top of the circles made its way between the skates of his roofer and behind goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman, who saw nothing but fire.
This two-goal lead was cut in half by Adam Gaudette with just 2:51 left in regular time, but the Finns held on. Jussi Olkinuora, who plays in the Continental League, kept guard by making 25 saves.
Miro Heiskanen, Sami Vatanen and Sakari Manninen also shook the ropes for the tournament hosts, who reached a third consecutive final. They had won the event in 2019, but were then defeated by Canada in 2021 in the gold medal game. Remember that the previous edition had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hope of CH Sean Farrell ensured the response of the Americans in the second period. The 20-year-old left-winger has six points in nine Worlds games. Nate Schmidt was the author of America’s other success story.
Finland will await the verdict of the meeting between Canada and the Czech Republic later on Saturday to know the identity of their opponent in the final.
