In the bronze medal game, it was Finland who prevailed over Russia 4-1 to take home the bronze. In doing so, they snapped Russia’s perfect record of 8-0 in such games.
The Finns did it by again showing their resiliency. Speaking to the true character of a persistent team that played very well during the two week U20 World Junior Championship tournament, they dug out of an early 1-0 deficit to score four unanswered goals en route to the big win.
After getting outshot 8-0 to start off the game, Finland came back strong by outshooting Russia 32-21 the rest of the way. Overall, they held a 32-29 edge in shots. It speaks to the nature of how hard they worked. Their second and third effort was better than their opponent, who were devastated not to medal. There were plenty of emotions following a tough loss.
It didn’t start off that way for Russia. With Finland flat at the outset likely due to the heartbreaking defeat to Team USA last night, the Russians took advantage early. Ilya Safonov converted a rebound off a Maxim Groshev low backhand that Finland starting goalie Kari Piiroinen couldn’t handle. The goal came at 6:03 of the first period.
Once they got engaged, it was the pesky Finns who took over in the second period. Skating with more urgency and playing with better determination, they evened the game up thanks to some hard work from team captain Anton Lundell. On a good point shot from Topi Niemela, Lundell redirected the puck past Yaroslav Askarov at 5:05 of the second. Matias Mantykivi added the secondary assist.
Although Finland had the edge in play, Askarov was able to hold his team in with some key saves. There was no carryover from a spotty performance in a tough 5-0 defeat to heavy favorite Canada on Monday. He allowed four goals in that one. Two which he lost his goal stick on. That didn’t happen tonight. He used his quick reflexes to slide across and deny a pointblank chance. Askarov took the low part of the net away and was technically sound. The two shots that beat him were deflections.
There wasn’t much happening in the final several minutes of the second. A lot of neutral zone play and little chances. Russia did create a two-on-one rush on a turnover. But it took too long to develop. The end result was a shot block by Finnish defenseman Ville Heinola. He was splendid the whole tournament and looks like a big part of Winnipeg’s future.
In the deciding third, it didn’t take long for Finland to strike. On a sustained forecheck, Sam Helenius worked the puck over to Eemil Viro at the left point. He let go of a low wrist shot that changed direction twice with the latter tip in front coming from Mikko Petman at 41:13 of the contest. That hard work paid off with Russian defenseman Danil Chaika unable to tie Petman up.
If there was a difference, it was in style. The Finns play a more straightaway game while the Russians prefer to utilize their shifty skating to create plays. That might explain why Finland won the bronze. They were the better overall team.
A double minor for hi-sticking on Russia captain Vasily Podkolzin with less than seven minutes left in regulation hurt the cause. Frustrated with the penalty after nearly scoring earlier on a strong move, Podkolzin had his head face down in the penalty box. That’s how upset he was. He couldn’t look. Fortunately, his teammates were able to get the job done to kill off the four-minute penalty. They still had life.
With less than two minutes remaining, coach Igor Larionov lifted Askarov for an extra skater to go six-on-five. They won a couple of offensive draws and created some late scoring opportunities. None bigger than a rebound chance in front that Piiroinen got just enough of to get a whistle. Astonishingly, the puck rolled to his right and stayed on the goal line. That close.
Following a turnover he forced in the neutral zone, Lundell potted the first of two empty netters with 1:28 left. The celebration was on for Finland. They blocked Russian shots in the final minute to prevent any comeback hopes. Juuso Parssinen came out with the puck and scored one more empty to put the exclamation point on the victory with just 13 seconds remaining.
While the excited Finland bench celebrated, it was complete dejection for Russia. When the final buzzer sounded, some players shed tears. That’s how much the game meant. At the end of the day, these are kids. Teenagers who put a lot on the line to try to win these big games we watch. There are no losers.
Congrats to the Finns on winning bronze. They could easily be facing Canada for gold tonight. They were a very good team. The third best at the WJC ’21.
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