Finns Advances to Semi-Finals After Defeating Danes

Finland's incredible tournament will continue on after beating Denmark 5-1 on Thursday.

The Finns were faced with tough news heading into the game, with the announcement that Alex Barkov would miss the game with the flu. The Florida Panthers star had been a huge part of Finland's success early on, with three goals, six assists and nine points while working with Jussi Jokinen and Patrik Laine in one of the strongest lines in the tournament.

The Danes struggled in the first ten minutes of the game, but the second half of the opening period saw them really control the chances. However, it was the Finns who would score first. Leo Komarov made a nice effort to keep the puck alive at the right face-off dot, but he would lose the puck trying to skate with it. Mikko Koivu was in a good spot to poke the puck back in front of the net, and his Minnesota Wild teammate Mikael Granlund was in a good spot to quickly flick it over Sebastian Dahm and in to give Finland the 1-0 lead after 14:29 of play.

The Danes were put in a tough position after just 1:45 of play. Dahm made a good save on a chance from Jarno Koskiranta after taking a nice pass from Mika Pyörälä, but Dahm didn't get any help from his own teammate. After making the save, Danish defenseman Stefan Lassen knocked the puck over the line with his leg, giving the Finns a 2-0 lead at a time where Denmark needed to regain some momentum.

For the first time in over two games, the Finns allowed a goal. Nikolaj Ehlers made a diving effort to keep the puck in play, with the Winnipeg Jets forward sending the disk to Mads Christensen. Christensen then found Montreal Canadiens forward Lars Eller in front, who used a quick release to beat Mikko Koskinen over the blocker to bring Denmark within a goal with half the game still to go.

With a minute left, Patrik Laine got yet another goal. One of the biggest stories of the tournament, the 18-year-old waited until Dahm has no chance of seeing any shot before unleashing one of the most dangerous wrist shots you'll see in the tournament, returning Finland's two goal lead just before the end of the second.

Denmark wanted to fight back, but they had no chance in the third period. With time running out, Jussi Jokinen scored an empty netter, putting the nail in the coffin for the Danes. Then, a terrible giveaway in front of the net led to Granlund's fourth goal of the tournament, giving the Finns the 5-1 victory and advancement to the semi-finals.

The Finns will look to continue their incredible year that has seen them win gold at the Under-20 World Juniors and Under-18 World Championships when they meet with the winner of the Russia vs Germany game, taking place later today. The semi-final game will be played on Saturday, with the winner playing in the championship game on Sunday night.

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