Canada saved best for last, outlasting Finland to lock up first place

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MINNEAPOLIS — In its final test of preliminary action, Team Canada saved its best for last, taking down Finland 7-4 to lock up first place in Group B.

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The win secured a quarterfinal date with Slovakia, the fourth-place team in Group A, on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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Brady Martin and Cole Beaudoin each netted a pair of goals, while Sam O’Reilly and Zayne Parekh both recorded a goal and two assists in the win.

Up against the best goalie Canada had faced up to this point in the tournament in Finland’s Petteri Rimpinen, a high-scoring affair wasn’t a given despite Canada’s 18 goals through its first three games.

Then the first four shots of the night found their way past the goalies.

First, it was Parekh netting his fourth goal of the tournament 73 seconds into the game, catching Rimpinen off his post on the right side. But then it was Julius Miettinen scoring on the rush less than three minutes later on Carter George.

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Martin restored Canada’s lead 32 seconds later on a setup from linemate Michael Hage, but Oliver Suvanto slapped a rebound past George to even the game once again.

Martin responded with another tally, this time rebounding on the power play off Hage’s right-side shot, only for Finland to get its own man advantage on a questionable hooking call against Ethan MacKenzie. Defenceman Lasse Boelius capitalized with a one-time blast from the point.

The second period was a complete reset, as both teams came out looking to run the other through the boards.

But on Canada’s third power-play opportunity of the night, Parekh slung a long-range pass on to the tape of Tij Iginla at Finland’s blueline, and he popped the puck over Rimpinen’s glove to reclaim the lead once again.

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The ice tilted toward the Canadians as the middle frame progressed, as they established a physical forecheck and dominated offensive-zone battles.

Canada’s third line was rewarded for its efforts when Beaudoin crashed the net on O’Reilly’s shot, cleaning up the rebound to grab the game’s first two-goal edge.

But Finland refused to go down quietly. In his own zone, Keaton Verhoeff turned the puck over to the tape of Roope Esterinen, who ripped it over George’s shoulder on the short side.

In the final frame, Canada settled things down once again with a defensive clinic. It surrendered just 10 shots through the final 40 minutes.

Midway through the period, O’Reilly and Beaudoin connected once again to push the lead back to two.

Finland wouldn’t sniff a comeback in the final minutes of the game, as Canada displayed its most impressive defence of the tournament before O’Reilly iced it with an empty-netter.

George, who entered the night with an ugly .870 save percentage and 3.00 goals-against average, made 14 saves on 18 shots for his third win at this year’s world juniors.

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