Team Canada battled Finland for the Gold Medal at the World Junior Championship, concluding the belated 2022 tournament in Edmonton.
Prior to the game, Donovan Sebrango told TSN’s Mark Masters that he was “ready to win gold,” and the Canadians brought that level of confidence into the game against the pesky, trapping Finns.
Team Canada won 3-2 in overtime on a goal from Kent Johnson at 3:03, from Logan Stankoven.
THE GOLDEN GOAL! 🇨🇦🚨🥇#WorldJuniors | @19kjohnson pic.twitter.com/VfhZrvVBpS— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 21, 2022
In terms of Red Wings players playing the game…
Donovan Sebrango: Sebrango played on Canada’s top defensive pairing, alongside Olen Zellweger. Sebrango finished at +1 in 17:55 played, earning a lot less ice time than usual due to Canada’s half-dozen power plays. The Canadians were human at times against the Finns, Sebrango included, but he played marvelously well all tournament long as a shut-down defenseman who afforded Zellweger room to roam. Great tournament for Sebrango.
Sebastian Cossa: Cossa was the back-up to Dylan Garand, the more senior goaltender on the team. He finished with 1 win and, a 2.00 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. At 19 going on 20 this November, Cossa is still an elite goaltending prospect–he just didn’t out-duel the incumbent starter in Garand, who had earned his coach’s confidence, and that happens during short tournaments. He’ll take part in the prospect tournament and main training camp, and may get an exhibition season start or two before heading back to the Edmonton Oil Kings, one of the best teams in the WHL.
Eemil Viro: Viro played on the second defensive pairing, alongside Aleksi Heimosalmi. Viro finished even with an assist, a penalty taken and 23:19 played. This was his best game of a good tournament, in which the 6,’ 165-pound defenseman pushed the Canadians around like a professional hockey player, he earned a lovely assist on Aleksi Heimosalmi’s 2-1 goal, and he was just superbly solid and sometimes explosive offensively. This was great for his growth as he’ll be more ready for North American hockey this fall.
In terms of the game’s narrative…
1st period:
In front of what was a mostly-packed Rogers Place, Canada came out in their “home blacks” to face the particularly pesky Finns.
The Finns continued to play Juha Jatkola in goal instead of Leevi Merilainen, which was a bit of a surprise, and Dylan Garand started for Canada in the crease…
And Sebrango got the second touch after McTavish, sending the puck along the ice to Zellweger, who sent it up ice;
When Sebrango and Zellweger set up in the defensive zone, they sent the puck up ice, and Dufour nearly backhanded a puck in off the goal line;
Both teams changed players and settled in some 45 seconds into the game, and the Canadians established possession and control in the offensive zone, establishing a heavy forecheck with a lot of speed…
And the game’s first scrum took place just outside Jatkola’s crease, and the refs simply separated players instead of taking numbers.
1:45 into the 1st, the shots were 1-0 Canada, and Viro did a nice job of breaking up a Canadian chip and chase;
Zellweger and Sebrango worked the puck from point to point and Sebrango stepped in, then backed off to the Canadian blueline as the Finns chipped the puck out of trouble, and re-set again as the Canadians rushed into the Finnish zone.
When the Finns threatened, Sebrango and Zellweger defused the bomb.
The Canadians really battled their way toward Jatkola, and he stopped shots 2 and 3 some 3:13 into the 1st period of play.
The Finns’ Raty line established a short spate of possession in the Canadian zone, and the Finns responded to Canada’s attack with a shot by Simontaival off the goalpost–the outside thereof–next to Garand.
Viro did a good job of setting up the offensive rush from behind his own goal and directing traffic, something that he’s very good at doing. He also pinched in at the Canadian blueline as the Finns generated their first offensive chances, with Vaisanen forcing Garand to pounce on a loose puck and hold on for a faceoff at 4:52.
Helenius sent a shot in that was blocked wide, and Canada re-set and attacked again, but the Finnish defense dug in, changed, and the Raty line set up and skated into the Canadian zone, but Del Mastro made a lovely block…
Roy ripped a shot wide off a Finnish giveaway…
Zellweger and Sebrango helped Roy, McTavish and Dufour cycle, but again, the Finns had a breakout, and Sebrango and Zellweger had to back into their own zone and chip the puck out of trouble.
The game took a more physical bent as a couple of Canadians ran a couple of Finns at the Finnish bench, but nothing came of the hits in terms of substance or penalties drawn.
7:25 into the 1st, the shots were still 2-0 Canada, and Kent Johnson whiffed on a centering pass that was an excellent chance, and then Jatkola made two BIG stops;
Jatkola stopped Stankoven, and the Canadians tried to reestablish their cycle some 8:30 into the game, but the Finns, though backed in, refused to surrender easily.
Sebrango and Zellweger managed to stifle a Finnish rush before McTavish got the Canadians’ fifth shot in on Jatkola just over 9 minutes into the 1st period, and the first TV timeout hit after only 11 minutes of elapsed time.
When play resumed, the nexus of play remained in the Finnish zone for the most part, and Viro was earning his usual shift, but he was quiet and efficient, while Sebrango was a little more visible as a puck-moving, playmaking defenseman(?!?).
I guess the rub of the game was simple: both teams wanted to establish and sustain possession and control in the offensive zone, but Finland was far more comfortable “playing the ropes,” as it were, as the 10-minute and 11-minute marks progressed.
Canada led in shots 5-0, and soon after, with Viro and Heimosalmi on the ice, the Canadians forechecked vs. Heimosalmi, Mason McTavish raced around the goal, beat Viro to the slot, and McTavish chipped the puck off Jatkola, Heimosalmi was left to stop two Canadians, and Joshua Roy jabbed the rebound home.
JOSHUA ROY PUTS CANADA ON THE BOARD! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/UacP7Z2yCX— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 21, 2022
🚨 Joshua Roy picks up the rebound and gets @HockeyCanada on the board!#WorldJuniors 🏆 #CANFIN@CanadiensMTL pic.twitter.com/4y3UBRS0bd— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 21, 2022
Canada led 1-0 at 11:18 of the 1st.
Viro did what he could, but he and Heimosalmi were alone on the Titanic.
On the next shift, Kapanen hacked at Garand after jabbing a puck into the crease, and all sorts of havoc rained down on him as three or four Canadians, including the highly-touted Berard, charged in to defend their goaltender.
Kapanen’s shot was Finland’s first, at 12:05 of the 1st.
Finland seemed to want to put the Raty line against McTavish’s line…
And Roy NEARLY SCORED a second goal as Zellweger dumped the puck in, and McTavish found Roy ALONE, but Jatkola made a tremendous glove stop.
13 minutes into the 1st, as Canada iced the puck, Canada also led 8-1 in shots.
The Canadians were in control of the game, as it were, but the Finns lurked, circling the water like sharks.
Puutio sent the Finns’ second shot in on Garand, Del Mastro blocked a third attempt, and Canada could not quite establish the same kind of possession and control that they could earlier in the period.
Viro and Heimosalmi worked together as a Finnish player lost a skate blade, and Sebrango ripped a heavy shot toward the net as Jatkola was dumped by a Canadian buzzing the crease, but the refs didn’t bite.
Sebrango did a good job of steering traffic away from Zellweger’s eyes as he made a 4th save, and Sebrango and Kent Johnson audibly communicated on a rush that led to sustained Canadian possession and control in the offensive zone.
Viro got away with one as he held the puck in offside with about 3:50 left in the 1st, and he worked the puck up ice to a Finnish forward Vaisanen, who was dumped as he chased the chip pass.
Canada’s chances were high octane in nature, but the Finns were playing just well enough to stay in the game.
At 17:35, the shots were 8-5 Canada.
The Finns were beginning to beat the Canadians to pucks in the Canadian zone, and some 18:20 into the 1st, they generated a real hard cycle…
Jatkola made a huge stop at the other end, and Zellweger and Sebrango found themselves facing a bit of “back-side pressure” as they worked the puck out of trouble with just over a minute left in regulation.
Sebrango bumped a Finn off the puck and helped Zellweger clear the puck to the blueline, but Rafkin held it in, and the Finns tipped a shot wide and ripped it right back into the zone, so Sebrango had to eat a hit to clear the puck…
And Sebrango blocked another shot as the first period expired.
The shots were 10-9 Canada after 1 period of play.
2nd period:
The 2nd period began with Sebrango and Zellweger on the ice ,and the pair worked the puck up ice and chipped and Canada’s McTavish line chased…But the Finns were able to reverse flow and forecheck themselves, and Sebrango and Zellweger had to carry out the puck themselves…
With Zellweger sending the puck to William Dufour at the blueline, and he ripped a low, hard shot through Jatkola to make it 2-1 at 0:41 of the 2nd period.
🚀 What a rocket!
William Dufour gives @HockeyCanada their 2nd goal just 48 seconds into the 2nd period#WorldJuniors 🏆 #CANFIN @SJSeaDogs pic.twitter.com/ZkncLesMaU— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 21, 2022
WILLIAM.DUFOUR.
Canada strikes again 41 seconds into the 2nd! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/9jdmMXYbud— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 21, 2022
Canada led 2-1, and Finland called timeout.
Zellweger may have gotten away with a trip as the play began, too.
VIro hit the ice at 1:15 and dumped the puck into the Canadian zone, backed up as the Canadians flipped the puck into the Finnish zone, and Viro avoided a heavy hit.
Finland got called for high sticking at 2:07 as Rubin Rafkin got tagged for boarding.
On the power play, Kent Johnson was stifled by Jatkola, as was McTavish, and the Canadians re-set, skated up into the Finnish zone, and Viro went off…
Stankoven, McTavish and Johnson remained on the ice for a long period of time, but Zellweger hopped on the ice, and the Canadians were unable to convert as they got a little too cute.
Even a “power move” by McTavish from the goal line in on Jatkola didn’t work.
The Finns began to blast shots at Garand when they established possession and control, mostly from their blueline, and a BEAUTIFUL tip by Simontaival was stopped by Garand, who froze the rebound.
Sebrango and Viro seemed to face off against each other relatively regularly, with Sebrango and Zellweger working with the McTavish line, and Viro and Heimosalmi working with the Raty line.
Garand made a BIG stop on a Finnish 2-on-1…
Jatkola made a HUGE stop on a breakaway by Kent Johnson…
And both teams really bore down with their skates as well as their sticks in order to atetmpt to sustain possession and generate shots and just plain old work each other over defensively.
Viro’s shot from the point was blocked, Heimosalmi put the puck in off Garand and he had to squeeze both legs around the goalpost to stop the puck before it rolled in off his legs and in.
The Finns really began to take control of the pace of play as the 2nd period continued…
But Connor Bedard forced Kapanen to pull him down (almost) with a hold 9:03.
Viro worked on the PK and did more without the puck than with it, but that’s what you want to see;
McTavish was also taken down sliding into Jatkola, off a hack from a Finnish defender, and the goalposts spun off their moorings, but neither player emerged worse for wear.
McTavish and Johnson worked the “between the legs” shot, but Jatkola made a big stop;
The Finns blocked a couple of Canadian attempts and passes, really doing a tremendous job of stifling the deadly Canadian power play, and Jatkola even made a mask stop…
And Jatkola made an AMAZING stop as the puck bounced off the top of the net and his back, but Rubin Rafkin made a dumb decision and he closed his hand on the puck while it was on top of the net, yielding a penalty at 11:10.
Johnson, Bedard, McTavish, Stankoven, Zellweger et. al. cycled and Bedard got a good shot off on Jatkola on PP #2, and Jatkola made an easy save;
McTavish made a bad pass and Zellweger had to bail him out defensively on a shorthanded Finnish opportunity;
Jatkola again made some big stops as the Canadians piled up scoring opportunities;
13 minutes into the 2nd period, the shots were 17-10 Canada.
But the Finns killed their second penalty in a row.
Surrendering only 2 shots against.
Because he doesn’t play on the power play, Sebrango didn’t get any ice time for a fair chunk of the 2nd period, and when he did, he worked with a different defensive partner as Zellweger had been over-used.
Finland buzzed around the perimeter against Seeley and Sebrango, however, and Canada mucked the puck down ice for an icing with 5:09 remaining in the 2nd, with Viro tagging up.
Rubin Rafkin got a hell of a scoring chance off the deep zone faceoff, and a TV timeout hit with about 5:00 straight up left in the 2nd period.
Make it 5:03.
Sebrango does a lot of communicating with his hands, and he does a lot of holding players up with his stick when he has to do so, and he got away with a couple of ’em…
William Dufour got high-sticked by Aatu Raty, and Raty sat for high-sticking at 5:40.
The Finns got away with one as Dufour lost half a tooth, but Raty only sat for 2:00.
Again, the Canadians went with the top unit of Johnson, McTavish, Stankoven, Bedard and Zellweger, and it was too fine and too fancy, and the Finnish PK, Viro included, was very good…
As was Jatkola, whose sightlines Viro ensured were clear.
The 2nd Canadian power play unit only came out 1:40 into said power play, and the Finns actually almost got an offensive chance before killing off the penalty.
Time was ticking down, however, and only 2:04 remained in the 2nd period.
Viro pinched deep off an offensive zone faceoff and helped Hirvonen and Raty cycle vs. Sebrango and company, and the Canadians raced in…
And Viro got called for slashing but not a penalty shot with 46.0 left in the 2nd. Giving Canada its fifth straight power play.
Canada was too cute again and the Finns got out of the 2nd period unscathed.
3rd period:
Sebrango had only played 11:11 after 2 periods because he doesn’t play on the power play, with a +1, and Viro was -1 in 15:16 because he plays on the PK.
The McTavish power play unit started the 3rd period with 1:14 left on the PP, and Canada established possession and control, cycled, worked the perimeter, and continued to try and score a gorgeous goal.
So Jatkola saw Bedard’s shot, and made an easy stop;
The Canadians continued to cycle and cycle and cycle, but didn’t send simple shots in on goal;
And the Canadian checking line played the final few seconds of the PP, with Dufour stopped and Viro exited the box after Canada had generated one more shot, which Jatkola stopped.
Viro chipped and the Finns changed, and almost 1:45 into the 3rd period, the Finns weren’t exactly sitting pretty, but they had a chance.
Garand had to make a massive glove stop as Raty ripped a hard shot through traffic and into the slot;
The refs were playing fast and loose themselves as players were tripped and hacked and jabbed at sans infraction;
Again, Garand had to make some big stops as the Finns began to lurk, and 3:22 into the 3rd, we were seeing a lot of the Raty line…
Niemela made a big shot and Garand made a big stop as Finland put pedal to metal…
And Viro drew an icing call with 3:59 gone in the 3rd.
And it came back to bite Canada.
Viro held the puck in, Heimosalmi fired a big bomb in on Garand and the puck may or may not have been tipped in by Sami Helenius.
Aleksi Heimosalmi puts Finland on the board with 15 left to play! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/7ObAbKxpYg— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 21, 2022
Aleksi Heimosalmi’s point shot beats Dylan Garand and Finland is within one! #WorldJuniors
🔗: https://t.co/UImwvzqwWmpic.twitter.com/tHSPxpBGfz— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 21, 2022
🚨 @leijonat is coming back!
Aleksi Heimosalmi gets Finland’s 1st goal of the game 4:09 into the 3rd. #WorldJuniors 🏆 #CANFIN pic.twitter.com/iWuxX5fbr7— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 21, 2022
4:09 in, it was 2-1. Viro and Juuso Maenpaa had assists.
Sebrango got his first shift on the ice after the goal against, and he could not keep Helenius from going to the net and getting a great scoring chance on Garand, who made a big stop.
At the other end of the ice, Jatkola made an AMAZING GLOVE STOP on a rebound of a Foerester shot…
Viro was pumping pucks toward the Canadian net, but the Finns weren’t able to get clear looks, and Sebrango chipped a puck out of trouble as the duo faced off on opposing shifts…
Sebrango used his angles very well to help clear the puck, and the Canadians tried to change, and Jarvente fired a shot high and wide….
Shots were 25-21 at 7:00 of the 3rd as the Finns really hit the afterburners.
Off another icing against Canada, Sebrango and Zelleweger helped Gaucher clear the zone, and they changed;
Garand held the puck with 12:27 left in regulation time…and we hit a TV timeout.
Helenius was doing a great job of screening Garand and stirring shit up after whistles, and, with the shots 25-23 Canada and 12:00 remaining, the Finns were beginning to dominate.
Viro got a good shot off, but it hit a leg, and Viro had to bump Kent Johnson off the puck;
Zellweger and Sebrango had a rough shift and the Raty line got back on the ice, and Sebrango and Zellweger needed help clearing the eyes of Garand as the Finns menaced with some hard shots sent wide of Garand.
10:00 in, the shots remained 25-23, and the Finns were doing a great job of stifling the superb Canadian offensive machine.
Even better for Finland, Niemela pinched and fired the puck across to Joakim Kemell, who fired a blast past Garand and tied the game at 10:48.
JOAKIM KEMELL TIES IT UP WITH 9 MINUTES TO GO! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/QswMJM3St4— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 21, 2022
🚨 JOAKIM KEMELL TIES IT UP FOR @leijonat WITH 9:14 TO GO IN THE 3RD!#WorldJuniors 🏆 #CANFIN@PredsNHL pic.twitter.com/lfkvJ8Pazy— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 21, 2022
The game was tied 2-2.
On the post-goal shift, Viro and Heimosalmi got very, very lucky as Foerester and his teammate skated in 2 on 2 and got a shot off on Jatkola that very could have made the game 3-2 for Canada;
Both teams had the “Yips” to some extent, and Finland got another great scoring chance that Garand had to glove and stop for a faceoff with just under 8 minutes remaining in regulation.
Finland was leading in shots 13-3 over the last 16 taken, and the shots were tied 26-26 with 7:20 remaining in regulation.
With 6:47 remaining/13:13 elapsed, Kapanen took a dumb hooking penalty 200 feet from his goal, and the Canadians stacked their power play.
Canada cycled, worked the perimeter, Jatkola made one save, the Finns’ Viro made a big block, the Finns changed, the Canadians did not, and shorthanded, Zellweger took a penalty to stop a goal from being scored.
Zellweger took a penalty at 14:18 and the Canadians and Finns would get 55 seconds of 4 on 4.
Viro and Niemela worked on the point on the 4 on 4, and the Finns killed the 4 on 4;
Cuylle fired a shot that was blockered away by Jatkola…
And with 4:39 remaining in regulation, Puutio hit Ostapchuk in the head, and the refs reviewed it for a 5-minute major.
There would be a 4 on 4 for 57 seconds and then a Canadian power play, but for how long?
It would be a 2-minute minor to Puutio.
Canada could not clear on the 4 on 4, and Raty and company cycled a bit, but Cormier raced out, Viro battled Foerester, Viro dropped to block a shot, so McTavish and Johnson cycled, Bedard and Zellweger came on, and Viro tried to keep the lanes clear, the Canadians cycled, cycled, cycled, and McTavish put a puck off the outside of the post…
Finland managed to chip and change with 21 left in the PK;
With under 3 minutes left, the Finns repelled the Canadians again and again and killed the power play against.
2:30 left in regulation as Kapanen bounced the puck in on Garand, who stopped it;
Viro and Heimosalmi sent the puck up to Kemell, who was stopped by Garand;
Sebrango and Roy chipped the puck out;
Viro head-manned the puck off Roy, reversed on the second try to Heimosalmi, and his shot went wide;
The Canadians chipped, chased, battled, Zellweger and Seeley worked together on the point, but Niemela iced it…with 1:12 left.
Finland won the draw and waited for their forwards to change, skated the puck out and the Finnish defenseman backed behind his net, skated up, passed laterally to Puutio, Roy skated in and shot, was stopped, Puutio and his defensive partner chipped, and Garand stopped Kemell when he got around Sebrango.
Sebrango and the Canadians cleared the puck but put it over the glass with 11 ticks remaining in regulation.
And nothing came of the play…
So we went to overtime, 3 on 3, for 20 minutes.
IN OVERTIME:
The 3-on-3 began with McTavish, Zellweger and Johnson vs. Raty, Hirvonen and Niemela.
The Finns forechecked very hard very fast, and that afforded Kent Johnson some time, but the Finns’ forecheck was hard and fast, as was their speed.
Stankoven got the first shot of OT 1:07 into the first OT, and the Finns got a little caught trying to go zone coverage instead of man on man.
Sebrango and Bedard went pass-and-shoot, McTavish looked to the point, Sebrnago did not get a chance, and had to stop Rafkin instead, Finland got a shot on Garand who stopped it, Sebrango fed Bedard and he fired off Jatkola…
3 on 1 Finland…Massive stop Garand.
Johnson fell…
HOLY CRAP IT WAS KNOCKED OUT OF THE AIR BY MCTAVISH ON THE LINE.
INCREDIBLE FROM MCTAVISH🤯#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/icTaluYLWb— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) August 21, 2022
The Canadians were worried about fumbling again, but they staggered to their feet, so to speak, and they forced the Finns to push back…
Stankoven and Johnson walked in and Johnson jabbed the golden goal home.
TEAM CANADA IS THE 2022 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPION! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/n1P5VAM67V— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 21, 2022
KENT JOHNSON DID THAT #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/o4ysJS1YDv— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 21, 2022
Kent Johnson: OVERTIME HERO! 🇨🇦 @HockeyCanada #worldjuniors pic.twitter.com/FusvzwMyg9— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 21, 2022
CANADA WON 3-2 in overtime on a goal from Kent Johnson at 3:03, from Logan Stankoven.
🏆 CANADA IS YOUR #WORLDJUNIORS CHAMPION 🏆@HockeyCanada pic.twitter.com/xl2Eybk077— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 21, 2022
CANADA BEATS FINLAND 3-2 IN OT TO WIN THE 2022 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP!🏆 pic.twitter.com/DxospxMiBz— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 21, 2022
19X GOLDEN! 🇨🇦🥇#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/sElytP9DGf— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 21, 2022
Update: Here are the game’s highlights:
