Team Canada and Team Finland squared off in a battle for supremacy in Group A at the World Junior Championship on Monday night, with the 3-and-0 Canadians looking to finish round robin play at 4-and-0, and the Finns looking to improve upon their similar (2 regulation wins and 1 overtime win) record.
As TSN’s James Duthie said before the game, the winner of the Canada-Finland game would face Switzerland in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal, while the loser would battle the loser of tonight’s 10 PM EDT-starting game between Sweden and Germany.
Two underrated Red Wings prospects would battle in Canadian defenseman Dominic Sebrango and Finland’s Eemil Viro, also a defenseman.
As Sebastian Cossa was set to back up Dylan Garand in goal, Monday night’s game involved players that “you don’t really notice” as Sebrango plays a spare, steady and physical game on Canada’s top defensive pair, and Viro quietly embodies a similar (albeit less physical) role the Finns’ second defensive pair.
This was a unique game! Canada dominated the first period, absolutely blew Finland away in the 2nd period, and then got into penalty trouble in the 3rd, and was really worked over by the Finns, who almost pulled off an improbable rally.
The score was 6-3 Canada, but Canada, who will face Switzerland in the Quarterfinal on Wednesday, had to bust its butt to play in the 3rd.
In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game:
Donovan Sebrango was his steady self, finishing at +1 in 21:01 played, earning lots of PK time, taking one untimely penalty, and blocking shots;
Eemil Viro had perhaps his best game of the tournament thus far, moving the puck up ice with pace and aplomb while avoiding hits and using his short stick to break up plays in the defensive zone, ultimately finishing at +1 with 1 shot in 16:43 played.
In terms of the game’s narrative…
In the 1st period…
Sebrango and his defensive partner, Olen Zellweger, started the game, and they had an uneventful shift.
The Finns and Canadians really had edges to their respective games, and were skating well and playing with hard, physical edges as the game got underway.
Every faceoff was hotly contested, the Finns were giving the Canadians no space with which to establish possession and control in the offensive zone, and when Samuel Helenius gave Dylan Garand a snow shower, pushing and shoving commenced in earnest.
There just wasn’t much flow in the game, despite a scintillating pace of play by both teams. Lots of neutral zone play and turnovers at center ice.
Sebrango and Zellweger had a good second shift, with Sebrango bailing out his defensive partner with a good block of a pass at center ice, a bump on a Finnish forward trying to screen Garand, and then Sebrango was dumped in his own zone, and Viro of all people got a great shot off on Garand, and Sebrango had to chip a puck to the line, which Viro fired on Garand;
The Canadians almost iced the puck as well, but Mason McTavish grabbed Viro and negated the icing.
Finland began to carry the play as the 5-minute mark passed, taking a 4-0 shot lead, and Sebrango and Zellweger were matched up against the Finns’ Hirvonen-Raty-Kemell line.
And Canada would score on their first shot, with Zellweger walking the blueline and firing a puck to Othmann, who tipped the puck down and past Leevi Merilainen at 6:21 Brett Berard got the other assist.
Brennan Othmann redirects it and Canada is on the board first! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/KSHzhUGiY9— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 15, 2022
Brennan Othmann gets things going! @HockeyCanada up 1-0 over @leijonat #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/obDx6sJHcy— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 15, 2022
The play was reviewed, and the goal stood.
Not surprisingly, the Canadians surged forth in terms of play after their goal, but the speedy Finns raced away from their defensive end whenever they earned possession and control of the puck, which wasn’t often.
Viro’s defensive partner, Topi Niemela, surrendered a turnover, but Viro blocked a shot, Merilainen made a big stop and the Finns chipped and chased.
Viro also got a shot off before backing up and backing in to “cover the passer” when Berard charged up the ice and chipped the Canadians’ 4th shot in on Merilainen just under 10 minutes into the 1st period.
At 10:48 of the 1st period, Helenius took a slashing penalty, so Canada headed to the power play.
Sebrango didn’t earn any power play time, but his defensive partner, Zellweger, did, and the Canadians buzzed around the Finnish zone, including when Viro tied up a Canadian forward and Tyson Foerester jabbed home the rebound of a Ridly Grieg shot, giving Canada a 2-0 lead on the power play at 12:14.
Tyson Foerster splits Finland’s defence to give Canada a 2-0 lead on the power play! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/DWSDl6a3rU— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 15, 2022
Ridly Greig powers his way through the Finnish defence and Tyson Foerster finishes off the play, Canada leads 2-0! #WorldJuniors
🔗: https://t.co/X7syuE1hzxpic.twitter.com/jklXY90LHr— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 15, 2022
Not the best play for Viro, who got caught too tight to his defensive partner. Grieg over-powered the slight Viro as a result, and Foerester broke in on the back-door play and jabbed home the rebound.
The Finns responded by pinning the Canadians in their own zone, and Sebrango played net-front defense as his usual defensive partner was on the bench, with Sebrango hacking and whacking at the Finnish forward who tried to screen Garand.
Sebrango then smoked Brad Lambert on the next play at 15:09, and he cleared the net-front as well when the Finns charged into the Canadian zone.
Up and down the ice, both teams were surrendering scoring chances against, and they didn’t seem to mind as the pace of play kept increasing.
Viro had a quiet shift after the goal against, but he did pinch up at the offensive blueline to afford Finland offensive zone possession.
When the Canadians raced up ice at the end of a long shift at 17:19, Connor Bedard just charged into the offensive zone and chipped a shot through Merilainen to make it 3-0 Canada.
Mason McTavish to Connor Bedard makes it a 3-0 game! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/YBmN2zIwMv— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 15, 2022
CONNOR. BEDARD. SNIPESHOW 🔥 #WorldJuniors
🔗: https://t.co/EwN2DhxhgDpic.twitter.com/hum3PqNnDZ— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 15, 2022
The Finns were a little pissed off that they’d played so well but were down 3-0.
After Viro and his Finnish teammates went offside on one shift, the Canadians charged into the Finnish zone and really began to establish possession and control on the next shift, and Finland didn’t like it, pushing and shoving against McTavish and the Canadians’ top line in a scrum with 1:19 left in the 1st.
The Finns responded at 18:54 as two Canadian defensemen got tied up behind the goal, and Helenius chipped a net-front pass over Garand to give the Finns their first goal.
Samuel Helenius puts Finland on the board! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/caEBpLDCKH— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 15, 2022
The Finns had life down 3-1.
Sebrango got wiped out by Helenius on the next shift, and the Finns cycled and Brad Lambert got a shot off on Garand as a result. The Finns were pressing hard as the 1st period wound down to its final seconds.
In the 2nd period…
The 2nd period began with Finland dumping and Sebrango chasing that puck to chip it out of trouble. The Finns weren’t able to establish possession or control, icing the puck instead, and Canada’s Zellweger got a point shot in on goal off the icing, whose rebound Ridly Grieg chipped in at 31 seconds to make it 4-1.
Ridly Greig puts another one in the net for Canada! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/OJw2LuDJeI— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 15, 2022
Ridly Greig extends Canada’s lead to 4-1 early in the second! #WorldJuniors
🔗: https://t.co/tYRCGmmnSOpic.twitter.com/FjbvZ9iPHa— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 15, 2022
All that momentum at the end of the 1st period evaporated for Finland over the course of 31 seconds of a bad start.
On the next shift, Viro did a nice job of bailing out his defensive partner while avoiding a heavy hit by the Canadian forechecker, giving a head fake before slithering into the corner to tap the puck up ice on the backhand…
On the shift after that, Sebrango and Zellweger blocked a slot shot by the Finns after not corralling a Finnish dump-in, and on the next Finnish rush, Sebrango couldn’t out-work the Finnish forwards, but he kept bumping and grinding, and the Canadians cleared the defensive zone.
Not much was going well for Finland, but Eemil Viro did prevent the game from going to 5-1 by blocking a breakaway pass for Nathan Gaucher with a gorgeous stick check.
Sebrango got a ripper of a shot off via a faceoff win in the offensive zone, too, and another shot by Sebrango was barely stopped by Merilainen, but it didn’t find ice behind him;
Canada more or less took over the game as the 6-minute mark passed, and while players like Viro were making smart, simple and efficient plays, the Canadians were dominating possession and control…Though Canada was still a little too “loose” defensively.
Connor Bedard did take a penalty at 7:02 for hacking the stick out of a Finnish player’s hands, and the Finns went to a crucial power play…
Sebrango helped work on the first PK unit for Canada, chipping the opening faceoff win down the ice, defending the front of the net as the Finns got a shot off on Garand.
Merilainen made a huge stop on a shorthanded breakaway by Foerester, and then the Finns really pressed Garand with a couple of fine scoring chances, but they did NOT score on their power play.
Finland had given up 20 shots in the first 30 minutes’ worth of play, and, at even strength, the Canadians really dominated play, magnifying the need for the Finns to lean on their goaltender.
Merilainen was nothing short of spectacular, frankly.
Again, when Viro was on the ice, simple, effective stick plays and the ability to evade opponents’ hits for the most part were the highlights, as were smart outlet passes and strong skating;
Sebrango got a gorgeous shot off from the point as the Canadians continued to buzz Merilainen, but he had stopped 15 of 16 shots over the course of only 13:05 of play.
Viro had to go from sending a shot on Garand–a rare shot–to defending against a big, heavy Canadian forward at the Finnish blueline…And he did the job…
With Canada rolling four lines and the Finns trying to play match-up hockey, Sebrango and Zellweger were not matched up against the Finns’ top players every shift any more.
And with 4:27 remaining, Finland’s Rafkin headed to the box for interference. On the power play…
And Mason McTavish ripped a one-timer off a pass from Owen Zellweger, and that puck found the back of the Finnish net at 16:17.
Mason McTavish with his 7th of the tournament! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/JkfOrGJqy7— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 15, 2022
It was 5-1, and the Finns were toast.
The Canadians did surrender a flurry of offensive chances to Finland after scoring, but Garand made some big stops, Viro made a great little rush play and cycled down low, but his one-time pass was fanned upon by Maatta, and the Canadians eventually mucked the puck out of trouble…
And the 2nd period wound down to an unceremonious conclusion.
In the 3rd period…
The 3rd period didn’t feel particularly consequential, but its winner would face Switzerland with some momentum on its side on Wednesday; its loser would face a tougher task vs. the loser of Germany-Sweden on Wednesday.
Without much in the way of line-matching going on, Sebrango and Zellweger did not start the 3rd period, and the Finns actually got the first shot of the period, some 1:05 in.
Viro did a good job of skating into the half boards, taking a check and dropping a pass to his fellow defenseman during part of his shift, but McTavish walked around him on the second part of his shift.
On the play in which the Canadians had to defend, Sebrango, with Canada up 5-1, blocked a Finnish player’s slap shot, and got up sore.
Finland did score a 5-2 goal as Joakim Kemell tipped a point shot through Garand at 3:07.
The problem was that the Canadians stopped playing after the Finns tipped the puck out of play, into the netting, and the Finns didn’t stop playing. Canada challenged the play, but there was no conclusive video of the puck going out of play, so the goal counted.
The call on the ice was weird: the goal stood, but the coach’s challenge yielded an inconclusive review, so there was no penalty on the Canadians for an incorrect challenge.
The Finns were pissed off and complained to the referees, because they could have made it 5-3 on a power play, but they didn’t sway the referees.
Play continued.
Sebrango took to the ice for the post-goal shift with Zellweger, and Sebrango managed to cover the front of the net, but Canada did give up a shot off Garand’s mask off a deflection off Sebrango’s stick, so he got a little lucky in trying to block a shot into his own goalie.
At 5:16, Donovan Sebrango did take a high-sticking minor, with a very accidental high-stick on Kemell, and Finland got the power play they wanted.
Finland was good, too! Viro didn’t get any ice time, but the Finns sustained possession and control, and they did a great job of cycling and preventing the Canadians from clearing for the most part.
Even better for Finland, Cuylle took a dumb tripping minor with 1:01 remaining in the Finnish power play, giving Finland a 5-on-3 for 1:01. It was reviewed for a potential 5-minute major for kneeing.
Cuylle got the 5-minute major, so Finland got a 5-on-3 for 1:01 and then a 5-on-4 for 3:59.
Garand made a big stop and the Finns jabbed the puck in after the whistle, so there was a nasty scrum;
Grieg made a beautiful block as the 3rd player high and he stayed on the ice as the Finns cycled;
When Sebrango got back on the ice he tipped a shot wide, and he chipped the puck out as Grieg got a standing ovation for his PK shift;
As TSN’s Mike Johnson noted, the Canadians were blocking the Finns’ seam passes, and as the crowd got into the PK, the Canadians took some energy from the crowd, and enthusiastically killed the penalty, Sebrango included.
Sebrango blocked a shot and it led to a McTavish shorthanded break-in, and McTavish was tripped, but the refs weren’t buying what McTavish was selling.
Sebrango blocked ANOTHER shot off his hand, trying to “palm” the puck, and he went off sore–AFTER pushing and shoving the snot out of some angry Finns.
Sebrango stayed on the bench, however, with another ice bag on his hand, after having blocked another shot with his hand in the previous game.
Canada killed 5:59 of total power play time, including 1:01 of 5 on 3 time and 3:59 of a major penalty. Finland only got shots on goal during the 5 on 3.
Viro got his first shift in a long time and looked solid enough in keying a rush and getting back to help his partner before going off on what was a short shift;
Ethan Del Mastro took a tripping penalty with 5:55 remaining, giving Finland another opportunity to at least wear down the Canadians.
Of course, Donovan Sebrango came right back out for the PK, and that long stick of his steered traffic away from the front of the net.
Worse, with 4:24 remaining, William Dufour took a bad tripping penalty, and Finland got 29 seconds of a 5 on 3.
Kemell hit the outside of the post on the 5 on 3, Sebrango could not clear the puck, and the Finns continued to buzz, and they scored.
Roby Jarvente made it 5-3 with 3:37 left. It was a bad goal against for Garand, who made the save with his glove, but inside the goal.
Pretty passing from Finland on the powerplay and Roby Järventie finishes! The lead shrinks to 5-3 👀 #WorldJuniors
🔗: https://t.co/dhgzQvUyU9pic.twitter.com/ytG0QBI74J— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 16, 2022
🇫🇮 @leijonat gets one back on the powerplay as Roby Jarventie sneaks the puck through. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/Ynqo3sYjG5— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 16, 2022
The Finns continued to grind down the Canadians, and, given that the teams may play each other again, they took what they could get.
The Finns even pulled their goaltender with 2:20 remaining, and William Dufour scored an empty-net goal with 1:47 left in the game.
William Dufour gives Canada their 3 goal lead back with an empty netter! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/nI73dHhJyq— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 16, 2022
Viro got another shift with about 1:20 remaining, and he just did Viro things, playing quietly and steadily while moving the puck with ease.
The game ended uneventfully.
Team Canada wins their last game of the preliminary round with a victory against Finland! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/9wjpNyVS1A— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 16, 2022
Penalties plagued @HockeyCanada but they held the game together and a 6-3 win over @leijonat #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/QTbpTkbSTY— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 16, 2022
GAME OVER! Perfect in prelims. 🇨🇦🇫🇮
📊 https://t.co/sXVJiAX0L7
💻 https://t.co/yGoMHYkZuf #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/WEdOYTojlL— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 16, 2022
Team Canada completes #WorldJuniors group play with another W. 💪🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/yYHaMsKHyc— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 16, 2022
Soonest USA and Canada could meet is in a medal game as both finish undefeated in group play. https://t.co/oGPKj7Fbss— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) August 16, 2022
Update: Here are the game’s highlights:
