WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND: For The First Time Since 2011, Finland Won Gold

Despite having a list of players without a single full-time NHL in a tournament where such players abounded, Finland won the 2019 World Championship in Slovakia with a score of 3-1 over Canada thanks to a two-goal performance by captain Marko Anttila.

Shea Theodore opened the scoring midway through the first for the Canadians. Theodore, a defender of the Golden Knights of Las Vegas, took the puck of the blue line and passed the three Finnish defenders before sending a quick wrist blow to the outfielder Kevin Lankinen. It was not long before the Finns responded, just under three minutes of the second frame, Anttila, 6 feet 8 feet, who was the hero of the winner of the game on Saturday, shot one through Matt Murray. Legs to tie the game at one o'clock.

But no goal was as big as the one Anttila scored in the third period. With Canada fighting in front of his own net, Anttila took a pass to the front and sent it over Murray's arm, giving the Finns their first advantage in the game and the final goal of the game and the gold medal. It was good enough to keep the last whistle, with Harri Pesonen scoring a late goal to help Finland capture gold for the first time since 2011 and for the third time in tournament history.

Russia stays in victory for the bronze in shooting

It was a tale of two teams. On the one hand, the Czech Republic was ecstatic at the chance to play for a medal, its reward for a fantastic performance in the tournament. However, the Russians entered the tournament with the perception that it was gold or a fall, and an overwhelming defeat at the hands of Finland in the semifinal ended that lofty goal.

The two teams scored with a difference of 41 seconds, with Mikhail Grigorenko in Mikhail Sergachev just a few minutes after the half of the first frame to start the score for Russia. Shortly after, David Sklenicka sent Michal Repik to run for the ice in a break, and he was not wrong, placing the goal of the tie. Dominik Kubalik scored shortly before the end of the first to give the advantage to the Czechs, but Artem Anisimov answered 39 seconds in the central stanza to return to knot the battle.

The regulation and overtime did not decide the winner; the bronze was decided by a shooting, where Ilya Kovalchuk and Nikita Gusev made a difference for Russia. Andrei Vasilevskiy was excellent and made an effort of 48 saves to help Russia get third place.

By: Preeti Narula

Content: https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/world-championship-roundup-finland-wins-gold-for-first-time-since-2011