For the first time since 2006, Finland will earn a medal in the World Junior Championship.
After a scoreless first period, Joni Nikko got Finland on the board first at 4:19 minutes of the second frame. From there it was all downhill for Canada.
Jonathan Drouin, who was taken by Tampa Bay with the third overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, found the back of the net midway through the second period to cut Finland’s lead down to 2-1. However, any momentum Canada might have gotten from that marker was lost when Drouin subsequently received a misconduct for a high hit.
Finland had a 3-1 edge through 40 minutes and Chicago Blackhawks prospect Teuvo Teravainen added insult to injury with a pair of late third period goals to complete the 5-1 victory. Juuse Saros turned aside 23 of 24 shots while Zachary Fucale only made 18 saves for Canada.
That sets up a gold medal match between Finland and Sweden. Meanwhile, Canada has failed to win it all for a fifth straight year. The best they can hope for now is a victory against Russia to avoid going completely empty handed. Those two countries met in the bronze medal game last year and Canada ended up losing 6-5 in overtime.
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World Juniors semis: Sweden beats Russia, massive postgame brawl