- Finland wins gold at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Tampere (FIN) after beating Canada 4:3 in the final.
- Match winner for the Olympic champion is Sakari Manninen in the 67th minute.
- “Suomi” thus succeeds in taking revenge for the 2021 World Cup final lost to Canada.
- The Czech Republic secured bronze with an 8-4 thrashing of the USA.
Things seemed to be over in Tampere when Joel Armia made it 3-1 with a superb wrist shot in the 55th minute; Finland had arrived at their destination on their way to their 4th world title. But Canada won’t be beaten until the game is over.
Canada once again shows morale
Sweden had to experience that in the quarter-finals, when in the final minutes they gave up a victory they thought was certain. And that’s what Finland had to experience in the World Cup final. Without a goalie, Zach Whitecloud and Max Comtois still equalized the score.
With this intermediate sprint, however, the competitive luck of the “maple leaves” was used up. In overtime, played 3-on-3, Ottawa star Thomas Chabot afforded a fatal penalty. Finland didn’t need to be asked twice. After a wonderful cross pass from Mikael Granlund, Sakari Manninen shot his colors to the title.
Biel’s special joy
It was the climax of a game that had started rather poorly. After a goalless 1st period, Dylan Cozens put Canada ahead after 24 minutes. Finland’s reaction followed in the final period. After several (sometimes disputed) penalties from Canada, Mikael Granlund equalized on the power play (45′) and increased 104 seconds later to 2:1. With Armias 3-1 six minutes from time the game seemed decided. However, it was only the prelude to the final spectacle.
For the Finns it is the 4th world title after 1995, 2011 and 2019. The Finns also repeated Sweden’s unique feat from 2006 until Sunday, after winning the Olympics in the same year, also becoming world champions.
EHC Biel should also be particularly happy about the tournament, after all, the new goalie of the Seelanders from next season will be Jussi Olkinuora: in his capacity MVP of the 2022 World Cup.
World Cup bronze goes to the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, meanwhile, won a World Championship medal in ice hockey for the first time since 2012. In the match for third place, the Eastern Europeans turned the USA from 1:3 to 8:4. The Czechs scored the three goals from 2:3 (33rd) to 5:3 (44th) at the beginning of the last third within 166 seconds.