By: Adamo Marinelli
January 2nd, 2019
Vancouver, Canada: After Aleksi Heponiemi forced overtime with 47 seconds left in regulation, Finnish forward Toni Utunen single-handedly shocked Canada with a dramatic goal 5:17 into the overtime period, to send Finland to face Switzerland in the semifinals while Canada faces early elimination the year after they won the gold medal.
Ian Mitchell scored the lone goal for Canada to give them the 1-0 lead early in the second period. Vancouver Canucks prospect Michael DiPietro stopped 32 of 34 shots in net and was named the player of the game for Canada (3-0-1-1).
“We told them we were proud of them,” said Canadian head coach Tim Hunter. “They came together, played, compete as hard as they did. That was a Hell of a hockey team. They're a good hockey team.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves for Finland (2-1-0-2) on 24 Canadian shots.
The last time Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the tournament was in 2016 in a loss against Finland in Helsinki. Finland went on to win the gold medal that year on their home soil.
“It's a tough pill to swallow but you just reflect on what you feel you could have done better as a player or a coach, what you felt you did well as a player or a coach,” said Hunter. “That's how you get better,” he added.
DiPietro played a perfect game for the first 59 minutes and was finally beaten at 19:13 of the third period after Canadian defenceman Ty Smith fell in the corner, allowing forward Eeli Tolvanen to shoot the puck off the outside of Canada's net. The shot rebounded back to him and Tolvanen’s second shot bounced off Heponiemi's ankle and squeaked past DiPietro into the net.
Canada's best chance to win the game in overtime came off a penalty shot after defenceman Evan Bouchard was tripped and hooked on a breakaway. Canada's captain Maxim Comtois took the shot; he aimed for the far side shelf, on the goalie’s blocker side, but couldn’t get enough height on the shot which deflected off Luukkonen's pads.
Finland kept the pressure high, forcing turnovers and exploiting gaps in coverage. They outshot the Canadians 11 to seven in the first frame, but the scoreboard remained empty at the intermission, thanks to stellar play from DiPietro, who kept an outplayed Canadian squad in the game.
“We told them we were proud of them,” said Canadian head coach Tim Hunter. “They came together, played, compete as hard as they did. That was a Hell of a hockey team. They're a good hockey team.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves for Finland (2-1-0-2) on 24 Canadian shots.
The last time Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the tournament was in 2016 in a loss against Finland in Helsinki. Finland went on to win the gold medal that year on their home soil.
“It's a tough pill to swallow but you just reflect on what you feel you could have done better as a player or a coach, what you felt you did well as a player or a coach,” said Hunter. “That's how you get better,” he added.
DiPietro played a perfect game for the first 59 minutes and was finally beaten at 19:13 of the third period after Canadian defenceman Ty Smith fell in the corner, allowing forward Eeli Tolvanen to shoot the puck off the outside of Canada's net. The shot rebounded back to him and Tolvanen’s second shot bounced off Heponiemi's ankle and squeaked past DiPietro into the net.
Canada's best chance to win the game in overtime came off a penalty shot after defenceman Evan Bouchard was tripped and hooked on a breakaway. Canada's captain Maxim Comtois took the shot; he aimed for the far side shelf, on the goalie’s blocker side, but couldn’t get enough height on the shot which deflected off Luukkonen's pads.
Finland kept the pressure high, forcing turnovers and exploiting gaps in coverage. They outshot the Canadians 11 to seven in the first frame, but the scoreboard remained empty at the intermission, thanks to stellar play from DiPietro, who kept an outplayed Canadian squad in the game.
Arizona Coyotes prospect Barrett Hayton, currently playing center for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds dropped to his knees to protect the puck deep in the Finnish zone and dished it out while being smothered by defenders. His pass connected with Ian Mitchell who quickly fired a rocket of a one-timer past Luukkonen to put Canada up 1-0.
Midway through the second period, Canadian captain, Maxime Comtois hit Finnish defenceman Ville Heinola hard along the end boards, sending him to the ice. Heinola crawled along the ice in pain as the play moved to the other end of the ice before he was eventually helped off by a trainer favouring his left leg.
The 17-year-old, who's eligible for the 2019 draft, went directly to the locker-room and did not return for the third period. No penalty was called on the play, though one arguably should have.
The hit seemed to once again ignite the Finns. Minutes later, Tolvanen stole the puck and streaked down the ice for a breakaway.
DiPietro made the initial stop, then got on his knees to save the rebound, too. The crowd of 17,047 responded with chants of “Dee-pee-et-ro!” The people in Vancouver are looking forward to having Canadian born DiPietro play for the Canucks.
The goalie's teammates helped out in the third frame, keeping the puck in the Finnish end for much of the period.
Finland beat Slovakia and Kazakhstan in the tournament's round-robin phase and lost to Sweden and the US; while Canada put up a trio of wins against Denmark, Switzerland and the Czech Republic before losing 2-1 in heartbreaking fashion to Russia on New Year's Eve.
The Canadians also dropped a pre-tournament match up with the Finns 5-2. That piece of information doesn’t really do anything except add more salt in the wound for team Canada and its fanbase. Canada will probably root for Finland now because them winning is better than the Americans and the Russians who are both going to the semifinals on Friday.
All of the teams still in the tournament will have Thursday off before the semifinals kick off in Vancouver on Friday. Finland will face Switzerland who stunned Sweden 2-0 in its semifinal matchup. Meanwhile, Canada will sit on the couch at home to watch the semifinals, the gold medal game and the bronze medal game. You don’t hear that a lot.
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