Finland rebounds for world juniors win against Slovakia

After a shocking loss to Switzerland on the opening day of play, Finland has bounced back to beat Slovakia 4-2 on Tuesday in Group B play.

The win puts Finland at 1-0-1-0 through two games and will have Wednesday off before facing off against Latvia on Thursday. The Slovaks will have a quick turnaround, facing the United States in the only game in Moncton on Wednesday.

After leading the shots 8-0 at one point, the Finns took a 1-0 lead. Sami Paivarinta opened it up with an in-close wrist shot, beating goaltender Patrik Andrisik over the glove. The lead would last until 19:49, when Dalibor Dvorsky’s shot was directed in by Peter Repcik for the 1-1 tie, which also gave them a 10-9 shot advantage after a slow start.

The Finns’ top guns showed up for a big second-period effort. Joakim Kemell opened the scoring at 23:34 and Oliver Kapanen converted on a pass from Kemell three minutes later to make it 3-1. At 33:56, Jani Nyman’s power-play goal made it 4-1, putting the game well out of reach for the Slovaks.

That didn’t stop them from trying, though, and Repcik’s second power-play goal made it 4-2. But just two minutes later, Winnipeg Jets prospect Brad Lambert sent a shot replacement goaltender Matej Marinov wished he had back to make it 5-2, ending the game there.