The USA beat the Finns to win Group B

The US dominated in the beginning. Whether it was Jack Peart’s shot bouncing off his right post or Cutter Gauthier shooting the puck off his mask, Kosenvoo had to be sharp to avoid getting blown out early. He also denied Hughes cutting into the net from the left, a play in which Finland’s Topi Ronni was rated highly as a catchy minor.

The Americans kept their pressure up and scored with a clever set at 15:22. With the penalty expiring, Ryan Ufko fired a shot off the end boards that bounced past the right post where Lucius tapped it in.

“It was just a sort of luck of the draw,” Lucius said modestly. “It hit the boards and I was there to put it in the net. Right place, right time.”

Kemell hit right back with a power play goal at 16:27 and blasted a one-timer from the top of the left passing circle. The Nashville Predators’ top prospect immediately put his hand over his right ear as the Moncton crowd — predictably the Finns against Canada’s cross-border rival — roared with joy. The songs “Let’s go to Finland!” sounded at the end of the season.

“Really good shot, kept us in it for a while,” Lambert said. “But apparently [the game] turned again.”

The Americans took back the lead at 4:57 of the second period on the power play. Hughes danced through the neutral zone to Finland’s end and sent a short back pass to McGroarty. He caught Koskenvuo’s keeper with a shot that squeezed between the goalkeepers.

Augustine had another assist, but still trails Czech Tomas Suchanek among goaltending players, who has a tournament record three assists.

Snuggerud won 3-1 USA without an assist at 9.02. In the preliminary run, the University of Minnesota ace made a lap in front of Koskenvuo and backhanded past the scorer for his team-leading fourth goal.

Lucius praised Snuggerud, “He’s obviously a great player. He shoots the puck really well, passes really well. And he’s a great teammate out there. So I’m really happy for him.”

Things continued to go America’s way. Hughes beat the Finnish goalkeeper with a shot from the right and gave the Americans a three-goal lead at 14:48.

Finland cut the deficit to 4-2 just 27 seconds later. Standing on the edge of the puck, Hameenaho took advantage of a lucky bounce off the skate and hit the puck to the open side.

Although the shots favored Finland 14-8 in the middle frame, they had a steep hill to climb. A little too steep.

In the third period, Cooley and Snuggerud joined in a dynamic scramble, and Cooley broke into the net, passing Snuggerud to a pass by Koskenvuo at 3:55. The USA had some breathing space at 5-2.

Despite the advantage of the next two men, the Finns looked scattered and couldn’t get anything going.

The Americans added some confetti and fireworks with Lane Hutson’s 6-2 score at 4:15 p.m. In a hurry, Cooley found a falling Snuggerud, and his behind-the-back pass set up the trailing Hutson, who made no mistake.

“I found space in the pocket and Cools and Jim made all kinds of plays there,” Hutson said. “I was on the receiving end of Jim’s pretty nice game. He hit me and I saw the five hole, so I put it there.”

“We knew we had a chance at the No. 1 seed,” McGroarty summed up. “So obviously, when it’s on the line, it’s hard not to get high in these games. Especially playing Finland, too. They’re a good team. You can tell in the locker room that the boys are ready to go, and it’s just the upside. I think we’re only going to get better and better.”

This game was uncharacteristically lopsided. Over the decades, Finland and the United States have created one of the most even competitions in the IIHF Junior World Championships. In general, it can be said that the Finns ruled in the 1980s, things leveled out in the 1990s, and the USA took over in the 2000s. Lately it’s been close to a dead heat.

The Finns beat the USA 3-2 in the 2019 gold medal game in Vancouver, the only time these rivals have played for gold. The U.S. was knocked out of Finland’s gold medal by winning the 2021 World Juniors tournament in Edmonton 4-3 in the quarterfinals before defeating Canada 2-0 for the title.

USA’s record against Finland is now 18 wins, one tie and 18 losses. Will there be a stalemate playoff rematch? Stay tuned.