Canada Beats Finland to Win Gold at 2022 World Junior Championship

After a wild championship game, Canada has won gold at the 2022 World Junior Championship with a 3-2 overtime win over Finland.

After a wild championship game, Canada has won gold at the 2022 World Junior Championship with a 3-2 overtime win over Finland.

Canada has now won gold 19 times, including three times since 2018. Finland secured a medal for the third time in four years, last winning gold in 2019.

Canada controlled the pace early, taking seven shots before Finland eventually got one on net. At 11:18, Mason McTavish got the fun started when he looped around the net and got the puck on net. Juha Jatkola stopped it, but deflected it right to Joshua Roy, who tapped it in for the 1-0 goal.

Less than a minute into the second, Canada doubled its advantage. This time, Olen Zellweger found William Dufour, who fired a wrister below the blocker of Juha Jatkola for the 2-0 goal.

The Finns found themselves in penalty trouble in the second with five calls. They killed them all, including one that carried into the third period, and that proved to be a big momentum-changer. At 44:09. Aleksi Heimosalmi's point shot went over a field of traffic and past Dylan Garand for the 2-1 goal. Then, two minutes later, Jatkola made a huge glove save on Tyson Foerster, one that kept the momentum on Finland's side.

That compounded with the tying goal with under 10 minutes to go. After holding out for the right chance, Topi Niemela found Joakim Kemell all alone for the one-timer. He got the shot just under Garand and tied the game up at two, setting up a wild end to the game.

With no winner in regulation, 3-on-3, sudden death overtime was needed to decide the winner. It was an incredible display of hockey, with a Finnish shot hitting the post and somehow staying out after McTavish knocked the puck off the line. Not long after, the Canadians went the other way, with Logan Stankoven finding Kent Johnson alone in front of the net. Johnson was stopped originally, but managed to knock in the rebound and beat Jatkola, winning the game and the tournament.