SWEDEN V FINLAND
The anticipation was at a fever pitch at Grand Casino Arena for the first Semi-Final matchup of the day. The first got underway with a quick goal from Linus Eriksson at almost 30 ticks in. Petteri Rimpinen mishandled the puck, and it went in right behind him. The Swedes went up on the power play, almost converting again. However, after their early advantage, the Finns were relentless in the offensive zone, creating incredible chance after incredible chance on two different power plays. Finland held the slight advantage in the middle of the first, but physically, the game was dead even, the two rival countries were at each other's throats for the majority of the period. As the period wound down, Atte Joki wired a ripper past Harenstam to tie up the game at one going into the first intermission.
The wacky nature of this rivalry continued in earnest during the second period, as Ivar Stenberg would fire a shot that found the back of the net about a minute in off a delayed penalty. Keeping it close, the Finns were beneficiaries of one of the wildest bounces in World Juniors history. Jasper Kuhta dug at the puck to force it to the glass behind the net, only for it to ricochet back into danger, where Harenstam backed into the puck to put it in. That score held for over ten minutes, which were filled with both squads trying to absolutely kill each other on the ice, with everyone throwing the body around. Sweden got their lucky bounce when Eddie Genborg found a shot that rebounded back to him behind the net, where Rimpinen was completely out of place, allowing Genborg to throw it back in for the goal. Sweden took their lead into the second intermission, but not before a MONSTROUS Jack Berglund hit on Finland’s Leo Tuuva.
The third period got underway as deadlocked as it was in the prior period, with both teams taking no time at all to show their animosity for each other. Though it was chippy, it took until eight minutes in to see a power play with four consecutive occurrences in just over three minutes. All were killed, and the period inched to a close, both teams matching each other at every step until Joona Saarelainen tied it up for Finland with under six minutes to play. No team could get it done for the rest of regulation, so it went to overtime, where it would get just more complicated.
Overtime saw quality chances from both squads in the beginning though Sweden soon took over with three separate Viggo Bjorck breakaways that resulted in saves by Petteri Rimpinen. The heat was brought up yet again for the Swedes when Bjorck took a slashing penalty that gave the Finns a crucial last power play that they could not convert on. Then came the shootout which would see both teams rely on their goalies, both teams’ best players so far, to win it for them. Both Rimpinen and Harenstam stopped six of their seven attempts thus far until Frondell came up to the center of the ice. Taking the puck, he drove in and found a tiny spot under Rimpinens pads to win the shootout for the Swedes, sending them to their second gold medal game in three years.
MVP’s
Sweden: Ivar Stenberg, Eddie Genborg, Love Harenstam
Finland: Daniel Nieminen, Aron Kiviharju, Julius Miettinen
Canada V Czechia
The second semi-final matchup was delayed 15 minutes from the Sweden/Finland game going to the shootout but the spirits of the players were not lowered whatsoever. The Czechs and Canadians got to their game early in the first, with the Czechs handling the Canadians well early and grabbing chances of their own. Late in the first, however, it was Canada who got it started, with Tij Iginla grabbing the first goal of the game. When a shot from Zayne Parekh was sent to the net, chaos ensued. Michael Misa corralled the puck, and through the chaos, found Iginla at the net-front. But less than two minutes later, the Czechs would answer. Spoiler: This would be a theme that would haunt the Canadians for the remainder of this game. The tying goal belonged to Maximilian Curran, but it was sparked because of a high-effort forecheck from Adam Benak. Benak forced the turnover behind the Canadians net, then centered the puck to Tomas Galvas, who sent a backhander to the net. The puck found Curran on the doorstep and he would not miss.
Going into the second period, the Czechs would open with a powerplay, thanks to a late period penalty from Jett Luchanko. While they did not score on the man advantage, the Czechs rode the momentum from that to open the scoring in the second frame. Once again, the Czechs would bury this goal because of incredible effort and battling hard for pucks. This time, it was a full team effort before Max Psenicka would set up Adam Titlbach in the slot to beat Jack Ivankovic high. The Czechs would then take a couple penalties, leading to a 5-on-3 advantage for Canada. Parekh, who has had a phenomenal tournament, would tie the game up off a give-and-go with Michael Hage. A few minutes later, Canada would be rewarded with a penalty shot, which was initially stopped by a trip on Michal Orsulak. After some confusion, Canada was awarded a re-do on the penalty shot, which Orsulak stopped. Then about a minute later, the Czechs again would respond perfectly to adversity, with Adam Benak continuing his best game of the tournament and reclaiming the Czechs lead. The Czechs would force a turnover in the neutral zone, before Curran would gain entry and set up Benak on the 2-on-1.
Going into the third, with Canada down a goal, they needed to give it everything. They got off to the right start, with Cole Reschny scoring at the side of the net, when Orsulak made a tough, but incorrect, judgement on his positioning. It was a rare defensive breakdown for Czechia as well, the exact break the Canadians needed. But yet again, Czechia responded a few minutes later, with Vojtech Cihar scoring a highlight reel goal. Vaclav Nestrasil got the puck moving up the ice with a couple savvy back-and-forth passes with Cihar, but Vihar made an unbelievable net-drive, capped off with a shot that just snuck under the bar from in tight, giving the Czechs the lead right back.
After some chippiness and questionable officiating, Canada would tie the game up late, and the Canadian faithful in attendance got loud. Porter Martone would play mop-up duty after he drove the net and found the rebound, making it a 4-4 game. But, yet again, Czechia responded perfectly. With less than 1:30 remaining in regulation time, Tomas Poletin would effectively put the nail in the coffin of Canada’s golden dreams. Benak would get this goal started as well, entering the zone and showing strong poise to hold up a tad and make a small, but very intelligent, area pass to Curran. Curran, while falling, would send a shot towards the net, where it went off the skate of Poletin and into the Canadian net. A heartbreaking goal. This would be followed up by more questionable officiating and an empty net goal for Cihar, who had an incredible game.
MVPs:
Canada: Michael Misa, Michael Hage, Jett Luchanko
Czechia: Vojtech Cihar, Michal Orsulak, Adam Benak
INDIVIDUAL REPORTS
Vojtech Cihař (CZE) (2G)
Czechia’s best forward put in another incredible game for his country, leading them to the Gold medal game. Cihar’s speed and work ethic are apparent in every game he’s played in, especially both games against Canada. His tenacity in open ice is extremely noticeable, jumping on the Canadians early, pressuring many of their breakouts and cycles. Cihar’s quickness in all ends of the ice doesn’t just stem from his work ethic though, his skating deserves real credit. He was really pursuing many of Canada’s first round defensemen on backchecks and making their retrievals a lot harder than normal. Flipping over to the offensive side, Cihar does not let up off the gas pedal, getting open and forcing defensemen to always have to keep an eye on him, lest they give him an opportunity to bury one when they aren’t looking. That speed helps him in transition which was one of the two biggest reasons for his jaw-dropping goal to take a 4-3 lead late. Cihar’s hands have also been a wonder this tournament and he effortlessly squeezed by Desnoyers to score the defining goal of the semi-final round. The Los Angeles Kings have a nice little player in their system with Cihar, I can’t wait to see him continue his craftyness in their middle six for years to come.
Adam Benak (CZE) 1G 2A
Benak, who was having a pretty quiet tournament ahead of this game, showed why he was selected in the fourth round by the Minnesota Wild. Benak has shown in previous international tournaments that his skill can break open games. His dynamism was noticeable in the U18s at times, despite a frustrating tournament for Czechia. He hadn’t shown off that dynamism just yet, but in the most crucial game of the tournament to this point, he showed up in a big way. His motor was on full display, as he forechecked really well, creating turnovers and getting opportunities for himself and teammates. His savvy playmaking and raw skill shined brightly, and he truly broke open the game in his minutes against Canada, with his first goal of the tournament and two more helpers to go with it.
DRAFT ELIGIBLES
Ivar Stenberg (SWE) (1G 1A)
By far Stenberg’s best game of the tournament was the semi-final against Finland, that’s not to say that he looked bad for the rest of the tournament, but this was the first game where he showed why he’s in the conversation for the first overall pick. In his own end, Stenberg was a monster, pinching hard on a Finnish team that had skated circles around other opponents in the tournament. His tenacity was on full display and his physicality that he has always had, was truly felt in this game. Stenberg was a disruptor for the first time in this tournament and it’s a side of his game that will be deadly if brought back to Sweden consistently.
In neutral ice, Stenberg also was the most fluid I had ever seen him. He has a tendency to try to do too much with the puck on his stick in big moments, and did still do that against Finland. However, Stenberg’s conversion rate was much better in the semi’s getting more quality zone entrances than any other games so far. Having a linemate like Viggo Bjorck helps, but he was the driver of that line against Finland.
In the offensive zone is where we saw him at his best. Going off his quick zone entrances, his quick goal to put the Swedes up just over a minute into the second was such an impressive read and shot from that angle and from that area of the ice. Stenberg can absolutely find more success playing like that in the SHL if he gets more aggressive with his shooting. However, his passing game has always been so excellent, he is great at finding ways to create mismatches in tight and finding a perfect angle to wire it to another teammate. Stenberg had a few close ones prior to getting his assist on Genborg’s crazy goal to take the Swedish lead once again later in the second period.
Overall, today we saw an Ivar Stenberg who played his most complete game yet, in every zone he did exactly what you wanted him to do, and he was the most crucial part of Sweden’s victory over a really tough Finnish squad. His impact in the Gold Medal Game will be crucial for the Swede’s chances as well, looking to finally get their long awaited first Gold since 2012.
Juho Piiparinen (FIN)
While Piiparinen did not score any points in the game against Sweden, he showed off his talents that will attract NHL teams come draft day. Piiparinen played physically, using his 6-foot-3 and 203-pound frame well. He defended rushes well against a fast Swedish team, which has been a known strength of his for some time now. But he also put on display a heavy shot in this game, with three shots on goal, tied for second on the team. In a tournament dominated by older players, Piiparinen did quite a good job at making himself stand out with his steady play, and chipping in some help in the offensive zone from the point.