The mystery thickens. Thanks to Tuomas Uronen’s game-winning overtime goal, Finland beat the United States 4-3 on Sunday at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. It was the Americans’ first loss at the tournament after two victories in regulation time.
The Kingston Frontenacs forward, who comes from Kerava, came in from the right side on a downhill and scored with a high shot from the glove side at 1:46. The Finns have recorded two victories since their 4-0 loss to Canada in their opening match.
The United States will conclude its round robin with a battle on New Year’s Eve against Canada, who is also scheduled to face Germany on Sunday night. Finland will face Latvia earlier on December 31 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Spectators were treated to a hard-fought duel as the two teams exchanged leads on a few occasions. Finnish goalkeeper Petteri Rimpinen got his third straight start, as Trey Augustine of the United States returned after giving way to Hampton Slukynsky, who scored in a 5-1 win over Latvia.
Both goalkeepers delivered great performances, as the Finns dominated 44-33 in shots on goal. The United States, defending champions after their victory in 2024 in Gothenburg, are seeking a medal for a third year in a row. They also won bronze in 2023 (Halifax). The Finns, for their part, are in the midst of a little lethargy. They haven’t won gold since 2019 (Vancouver) or a medal since silver in 2022 (Edmonton).
The atmosphere was exhilarating in Ottawa as the 16,433 spectators serenaded the Americans, long-time rivals, with boos and chants of “Let’s go, Finland!” »
The Americans came out like lions. Cole Eiserman, the United States National Development Team Program’s all-time leading scorer (127), tested Rimpinen twice from short range in the first two minutes. Eiserman was in snarling mode as he also received the first penalty of the match for giving way in the Finnish zone. Finland struck first at 9:50 with a short-handed goal. Trevor Connelly, who was carrying the puck in the neutral zone, was the victim of a turnover at the hands of Joona Saarelainen, who passed the puck to Arttu Alasiurua in the opposite direction. He fired a wrist shot over Augustine’s glove.
Around the 13th minute of play, with Finland once again playing one man short, Alasiurua outwitted the American defense with a nice feint and found himself alone against Augustine. However, the Karpat Oulu striker was unable to beat the goalkeeper’s mitt with a backhand shot. At 14:20, Terrance scored his second goal of the tournament on a drive from his own blue line, firing a shot from the faceoff circle past Rimpinen.
Defenseman Cole Hutson gave the United States a 2-1 lead at 1:45 of the second period with a perfect close-up shot from the faceoff circle. Hutson, who had five assists in the 10-4 tournament-opening victory over Germany, is the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson.
The Finns tied the game 2-2 at 4:09 on the power play, just 12 seconds after Joey Willis’ slashing penalty. From the slot, Jesse Kiiskinen deflected Emil Pieniniemi’s long shot. It was Finland’s first power play goal in Ottawa.
Julius Miettinen gave Finland a 3-2 lead at 9:19 when Kasper Halttunen skillfully handled the puck in the right faceoff circle before feeding it to the Everett Silvertips forward who fired a laser under the crossbar.
Rimpinen frustrated the speedy American Oliver Moore with his glove on a shorthanded breakaway to preserve his team’s one-goal lead with six minutes left in the second period. Two minutes later, Gabe Perreault beat the Finnish goalkeeper, but his shot hit Rimpinen’s right post.
In the third period, Brodie Ziemer was on fire and tied the game for the United States at 3:26, taking advantage of a nice cross-ice pass in the slot from Teddy Stiga. Tensions rose and United States captain Ryan Leonard drew boos from the crowd after a tussle with Rimpinen.
Finland’s last victory against the United States was in the 2020 quarterfinals, by a score of 1-0, thanks to Joonas Oden’s goal in the third period and the shutout of Justus Annunen, who made 30 saves. The United States won the next three games, including a 3-2 victory in the 2024 semifinals thanks to Cutter Gauthier’s power-play goal with less than four minutes to play.
