And the United States men’s ice hockey team took care of Finland in an electrifying quarter-final battle, 5-2. With this victory, they became the first American team to qualify for the World Championship semifinals! It was an amazing game, with five lead changes, as both teams fought tooth and nail to emerge victorious. The win continues a string of early exits for Finland, who were the 2022 reigning champions.
The contest started with Finland jumping out to a quick lead. After some great ball movement on the man advantage, Patrick Puistola scored to give the Finns a 2-1 lead. Instead of waiting, the Americans moved quickly. Defenseman Zeev Buium knocked home a rebound from a Mattie Beniers shot, tying the game. This rapid fire equalizer ignited the American team, changing the tide of the match.
Turning Point in the Match
After Buium’s goal, the U.S. never trailed again and dominated the match. Garland had the ball, he shot it and he gave the Americans the lead! His shot hit Mikael Seppala’s stick and went airborne into the goal. Logan Cooley started the play with a fantastic cross-ice pass. Garland took advantage of the opportunity and scored!
Finland did not go down quietly. Eeli Tolvanen was able to net one while Cooley was sin-binned for delaying the game, closing the gap to 3-2. Shane Pinto put together another good sequence just six minutes into the second period. He doubled the U.S. advantage to two goals just minutes later.
“I think in the first half we were a little frustrated but as the game went on we stuck to our game, we got our chances and we capitalised,” – Shane Pinto
Securing the Victory
As the game went on, the U.S continued to show their poise under Finland’s fierce pressure. Clayton Keller ensured the win with an empty-net goal with just under three minutes remaining in the game. The U.S. came away with an emphatic 5-2 final score, much to the pleasure of their fans.
What Shane Pinto emphasized was the need to take advantage of the few mistakes Finland makes throughout the game.
“The Finnish, they do a good job of defending. They don’t make many mistakes but when they do we had to capitalise on them, and I thought we did.” – Shane Pinto
Finland’s exit at this stage is the third consecutive quarter-final exit for the 2022 champions, underscoring a frustrating trend for the 2022 winners. The U.S. victory pushes them all the way to the semifinals. It equally celebrates their drive and talent on the international scene.
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