Game Recap, Insight, U20 World Junior Championships

2021 World Juniors Recap: Bronze Medal Game

Written by Adam Kierszenblat on

 

The Bronze Medal game between Finland and Russia was hard-fought right to the end. As predicted in our semi-final article, Finland beat Russia 4-1 to take home the bronze.

Here is the recap from this exciting battle for third place.

Russia dominated the game early and was rewarded 6:03 into the first period. Ilya Safonov picked up a rebound in front of the Finnish net to take a 1-0 Russia lead early.

Prior to the goal, Russia had outshot Finland 5-0. The Finns slowly got their legs under them but were unable to beat Askarov in the period. Russia took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

In the second period, Anton Lundell finally beat Askarov on the Finnish team’s 11th shot of the game. The beautiful tip off a point shot from Topi Niemelä tied the game at one. The goal was the captain’s fifth of the tournament and came after constant pressure in the offensive zone. The teams battled the entire period, but no team was able to break the tie as the game stayed 1-1 into the second intermission.

Early in the third, Finland broke the tie thanks to another tip-in goal, this time from Mikko Petman. His first goal of the tournament gave Finland the 2-1 lead. The goal was Petman’s first of the tournament.

With 1:28 left in the third period, Finland’s captain Anton Lundell stole the puck at the Russian line and fired it into the empty net to give Finland a 3-1 lead. Lundell has been incredible the whole tournament and cemented Finland’s win with the goal. Finland went on to score another empty-net goal by Juuso Pärssinen with 12.6 left in the game for a final score of 4-1.

A goaltending battle For the ages:

Askarov and Kari Piiroinen were incredible throughout the game. Although he was on the losing side, Askarov kept Russia in the game late stopping 28 of 30 shots. As for Piiroinen, his brilliance bouncing back after giving up the first goal kept Finland in the game and helped lead them to a Bronze. Russia outshot Finland 8-0 to start the game so Piironinen had to be sharp throughout. Both teams competed hard, but in the end, Finland was able to pull through and take home their seventh bronze in history.

What a Finnish:

Finland battled back after allowing the early goal to score four straight and take home bronze. This game was a hard-fought battle from start to finish, and Finland proved why they are a hockey powerhouse. Anton Lundell was extraordinary throughout the game, and hockey fans really saw the emergence of Topi Niemelä. Niemelä was one of the best defensemen in the tournament, which should be exciting if you are a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. As for Ville Heinola, if he can continue his development, we could be looking at a star for the Winnipeg Jets. In the end, Finland deserved this win. What an incredible way to end their tournament.

Three stars from each team:

Finland:

Anton Lundell- 2 goals, 3 shots, +2, 17:17 TOI

Kari Piiroinen- 29 saves on 30 shots

Ville Heinola- 6 shots, +3, 24:51 TOI

Russia:

Yaroslav Askarov- 28 saves on 30 shots

Artemi Knyazev- 1 shot, 20:24 TOI

Kirill Kirsanov- 3 shots, 21:32 TOI