Finland to Play for Gold

Finland’s perfect record will see them play for gold on Sunday after beating Russia 3-1 in the semi-finals.

The Russians got off to a quick start. After just 2:12 of play, Ivan Telegin fired the puck on net, only to be stopped by Mikko Koskinen. Former NHL prospect Sergei Shirokov was in a good spot to pick up the rebound, firing it back past Koskinen and in for the 1-0 goal early in the contest.

Finland had a tough first period, sending just four shots towards Sergei Bobrovsky. The Russians had better puck control in the first half of the game, and while the Finns did have a few late chances in the opening frame, they still left a lot on the table heading into the second period.

The Russians were close to taking the 2-0 lead at the two minute mark of the second. Alex Ovechkin, probably the biggest star in the contest stole the puck from a Finnish defender before breaking in all alone. Ovechkin was stopped by Koskinen, who got the pad out in time to beat the Washington Capitals captain and keep the game close for the Finns.

The Finns finally had some momentum, and a power play chance in the second was what they would need to tie things up. At 5:34, Mikael Granlund found Sebastian Aho all alone in the high slot, wiring it past Bobrovsky for the tying goal with 35 minutes still remaining in the contest.

The game quickly began to fall apart late in the period for the Russians. With 4:10 left in the frame, Patrik Laine made Alexei Emelin look silly with a slick move around the net, sending it over to Jussi Jokinen for the one-timer goal. Then, with 1:45 left to go in the period, Aho added another one on the power play, giving his team the 3-1 lead after three unanswered goals. Koskinen did a splendid job shutting the door in the third, making it very hard to allow Russia to get back in the third, keeping the lead in tact to finish off the game and head back to the finals.

Finland will play for gold for the first time since 2014, losing to Russia. Finland will look for their first medal since 2011, when the team tackled their close rivals from Sweden. The finals will take place at 1:45 pm ET. 21:45 local, with hopes of winning the tournament gold coming against either Canada or the United States.