Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen and his Finnish teammates pulled off a big win over their biggest rival, Team Sweden.
On Friday, day 3 of the men’s ice hockey tournament kicked off with a match between Finland and Sweden. This matchup is one of the best international hockey rivalries, and you could tell based on the intensity that both sides played with from the jump.
For Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen, it was another opportunity for him to establish himself as a top-six forward with his country of Finland.
After a tough defeat at the hands of Slovakia on Wednesday, the Finns were desperate for a win. Sweden, following a win over Italy on the same day, had a chance to take full control of Group B.
By the end of the first period, Finland had the resolve of a team desperate to keep their Gold Medal hopes alive. A 2-0 lead was earned thanks to goals scored by Nikolas Mantinpalo and Anton Lundell.
In the second period, Rasmus Dahlin scored a power-play goal to make things interesting. Sweden started to put the pedal to the metal, but a Joel Armia short-handed goal gave Finland the momentum right back. This 3-1 period held through two.
The final frame saw Sweden leave it all out on the ice. They outshot Finland 17-6 in the third, but the only goal came from Mikko Rantanen into an empty net. Finland pulled off a massive victory over their arch rivals by a score of 4-1.
The star of the game is someone the Blackhawks are familiar with: Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros. He made 34 saves on 35 shots to hold off Sweden and preserve the victory.
Teravainen ended the game with 13:53 of ice time and one shot on goal. He had 10:36 of ice after two periods, but he wasn't used much in the shutdown or penalty killing role that was needed in the third.
Next up for Teravainen and Finland is their final game of Group B play. They will take on the host country of Italy on Saturday. Sweden will play Slovakia beforehand, with multiple possible outcomes for the group.
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