USA comes back to beat Finland, advance to 2024 World Junior Championship final
The United States of America came from behind to beat Finland 3-2 in the final semifinal game, earning a spot in the gold-medal game on Friday.
USA will play against Sweden in the title game at 1:30 PM ET. It’s the Americans’ first trip to the final since 2021, while Finland will chase bronze for the first time since that same event in Edmonton.
USA had the shot advantage for much of the first period, but the Finns came out looking strong heading into the first break. At 1:51, Tommi Mannisto stole the puck off Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Sam Rinzel and hit the post, only for Columbus’ Oiva Keskinen to come in and score on the rebound.
Then, at 12:45, Rasmus Kumpulainen scored his first goal of the tournament after sitting out the previous three games. Arttu Karki would take the shot from the point, with Kumpulainen skating in and re-directing the shot in close to make it 2-0 – the first time the Americans had trailed by two all tournament long.
The second period was all United States. They outshot the Finns 14-3 while also tying it with two goals four minutes apart. First, Jimmy Snuggerud scored on a blast on the power play to cut the lead in half. Then at 36:16, Will Smith capitalized on a feed from his good buddy Gabe Perreault, beating Niklas Kokko to make it 2-2.
The game stayed close, with the teams training high-quality chances. But at 56:47 on the power play, Cutter Gauthier’s blast off of a Lane Hutson pass made it 3-2, securing the comeback and giving the Americans the victory.
USA
#6 Will Smith, C (San Jose Sharks): Smith is one of USA’s hardest-working players, and his 2-2 goal the result of some great work in the offensive zone. He kept the Finns on their heels and forced a turnover that eventually led to Smith converting on a feed from Gabe Perreault. The Americans needed their top six to convert when they were trailing, and after helping set up Snuggerud’s 1-0 goal, Smith came up huge.
#81 Jimmy Snuggerud, RW (St. Louis Blues): Speaking of Snuggerud, it was good to see him score his first goal since his hat-trick against Switzerland a week ago. His power-play goal was one of the hardest shots we’ve seen at this tournament, blasting high past Kokko to give the Americans a bit of relief.
#26 Seamus Casey, D (New Jersey Devils): I thought Casey was USA’s best all-around defenseman today. He set Snuggerud up for the 2-1 goal instead of shooting himself, which was a smart call. He had an active stick in his own zone and nearly grabbed a goal of his own in the second.
#1 Trey Augustine, G (Detroit Red Wings): It’s a good thing Augustine was on his game early because that could have gotten ugly. He still allowed two goals on his first six shots, but he had to deal with plenty of five-alarm chances early and he didn’t back down. Augustine has played some great hockey in limited starts at this tournament, so it was good to see him lock things down after Kumpulainen’s tip. He was incredible the rest of the way, especially on his huge toe save with a minute to go.
Finland
#34 Tommi Mannisto, LW (Undrafted): Consider this my daily “please draft this guy” plea. Mannitso gets to the net and makes things happen. The Michigan State University forward snagged an assist on the game’s first goal, getting to the net after stealing the puck from Sam Rinzel before Oiva Keskinen showed . Mannisto is a hard worker with boundless energy and this tournament has been a perfect showcase of that.
#19 Konsta Helenius, C (2024 NHL Draft): Helenius is one of Finland’s best play drivers, just forcing the Americans to make quick decisions while having a nose for the net. He’s a great playmaker that can use his speed and strength to win battles. Helenius started the tournament off slow, but he bounced back and played his best hockey in the second half, for sure.
#30 Niklas Kokko, G (Seattle Kraken): Kokko was the main reason this game was close, given how much better the Americans were didn’t give the Americans much in terms of quality rebounds, moved well, settled in, dialed in, focused