Finland comes back to beat Canada

Another surprise of the third day of the tournament has emerged in Breclav. In this game between evenly-matched teams, the Canadians took the lead twice but Finland both times managed to tie it up quickly. The winning goal scored by Artturi Lehkonen and the great job of Finnish goalie Joonas Korpisalo secured an important win for Suomi.

The first period was played evenly as both teams played well on defence. Goaltenders Matt Murray and Joonas Korpisalo didn’t have to show their best saves, as most of the shots came from far out. Even the first Finnish power play didn’t change much as Canada did a great job of penalty killing. Just a few seconds after Warren Steele returned from the penalty bench, a shot that was deflected by Damon Severson missed the left post only by inches.

Finland didn’t take advantage of their second power play either, but they had chances, especially Joonas Huovinen, who was standing alone in front of Murray. The Canadians got an opportunity on the power play and they got some chances as well, as Korpisalo faced many shots. It appeared that the first period would end scoreless, with a faceoff to Korpisalo´s left with only three seconds remaining. Right after a faceoff, however, Matt Dumba quickly fired a shot that went right through the goalie’s legs.

Early in the second period, Darnell Nurse received a minor penalty and a 10-minute misconduct for checking from behind. Finland didn’t score on that power play, but in the 26th minute Atte Makinen rifled one from the right circle which went off the left post and in. The Canadians took their lead back only 27 seconds later, though, thanks to Kirby Rychel’s rebound goal.

But the Finns got better minute by minute. They occupied their offensive zone almost the whole time Damon Severson was sitting on the penalty bench and just one second after his return, Ville Pokka’s one-timer tied the score again. And penalties brought more troubles to the Canadian team. With a five-on-three advantage in the last minute of the period, Artturi Lehkonen scored to give Finland its first lead of the game.

"I was a little busier than I expected," Canadian goalie Matt Murray commented after the game. "Especially in the second period there was a lot of work for me; a lot of end to end action and power plays. Finland played hard today, they have a lot of skilled players, while our performance was a little flat."

The Finns kept on playing actively in the third period, and they were rarely under pressure from the Canadians. Murray had to face more shots, while Korpisalo stopped all six shots he faced. Murray helped his team especially in the 45th minute, making a marvelous glove save off the stick of Tuevo Teravainen, who was playing his first game of the tournament. Teravainen, who just joined the Finnish team due to the Finnish SM-liiga playoffs, had two assists in the game.

In the 59th minute, Rasmus Kulmala scored the fourth goal for Finland, and pulling the Canadian goalie in the last minute couldn’t change anything.