Last year, Denmark beat Finland for the first time ever at the World Juniors. But on Thursday, the Finns made sure history didn’t repeat itself, winning 4-1.
Danish goalie Kasper Krog had a far busier outing than his Finnish counterpart Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as shots on goal massively favored Finland, 61-7. (Canada set the single-game shots record in Moscow on January 4, 1988, outshooting Poland 95-30 in a 9-1 win.)
Finnish captain Juuso Valimaki and Henri Jokiharju led the way with a goal and an assist apiece, and Joona Koppanen and Aapeli Rasanen also scored. Miro Heiskanen added a pair of assists. Finland bounced back after losing its opener 4-2 to Canada.
Nikolaj Krag replied for Denmark.
The Finns, with nine returning players, are aiming to medal after a disastrous ninth-place result in Montreal in 2017. They last won gold on home ice in Helsinki in 2016. Their next game is on Saturday against underdog Slovakia.
Denmark is pointless through two games, and must improve against Canada on Saturday and Slovakia on Sunday if it is to crack the quarter-finals for the fourth straight time.
The Finns sent a message that this year would be different when they scored on their first shot on goal. Koppanen’s quick release from the left faceoff circle squeezed through Krog’s pads at 2:49.
At 6:56, Rasanen snared Eeli Tolvanen’s rebound off the end boards and roofed it for a 2-0 lead. It was total Finnish dominance in the first period with an 17-1 edge in shots.
Just 1:38 into the second period, the Danes struck back on their opening power play. Krag zapped home a high wrister from the right faceoff circle, beating Luukkonen stick side. That was Denmark’s third shot.
But like true Corsi believers, the Finns kept firing away. Krog did his part, including a tough glove save on Markus Nurmi halfway through the game. However, he couldn’t stop Valimaki’s rising center point drive (shot #40) to make it 3-1 at 15:38.
At 17:44, Jokiharju put the game out of reach, pinching in to bang home a rebound. Danish coach Olaf Eller called his timeout, but there was nothing he could say to turn the tide now.
In the third period, Finland's biggest moment of concern was when a prone Joni Ikonen accidentally blocked his own teammate's slapper in front of Krog. But he got up and carried on.
During a subsequent Finnish power play, Danish captain Christian Mathiasen-Wesje showed a lot of guts when he stayed on the ice for eons after painfully blocking a Jokiharju drive. When he finally got to the bench, he earned a warm round of applause from the spectators. Perhaps that kind of selflessness will give the Danes something to build on.
LUCAS AYKROYD
Danish goalie Kasper Krog had a far busier outing than his Finnish counterpart Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as shots on goal massively favored Finland, 61-7. (Canada set the single-game shots record in Moscow on January 4, 1988, outshooting Poland 95-30 in a 9-1 win.)
Finnish captain Juuso Valimaki and Henri Jokiharju led the way with a goal and an assist apiece, and Joona Koppanen and Aapeli Rasanen also scored. Miro Heiskanen added a pair of assists. Finland bounced back after losing its opener 4-2 to Canada.
Nikolaj Krag replied for Denmark.
The Finns, with nine returning players, are aiming to medal after a disastrous ninth-place result in Montreal in 2017. They last won gold on home ice in Helsinki in 2016. Their next game is on Saturday against underdog Slovakia.
Denmark is pointless through two games, and must improve against Canada on Saturday and Slovakia on Sunday if it is to crack the quarter-finals for the fourth straight time.
The Finns sent a message that this year would be different when they scored on their first shot on goal. Koppanen’s quick release from the left faceoff circle squeezed through Krog’s pads at 2:49.
At 6:56, Rasanen snared Eeli Tolvanen’s rebound off the end boards and roofed it for a 2-0 lead. It was total Finnish dominance in the first period with an 17-1 edge in shots.
Just 1:38 into the second period, the Danes struck back on their opening power play. Krag zapped home a high wrister from the right faceoff circle, beating Luukkonen stick side. That was Denmark’s third shot.
But like true Corsi believers, the Finns kept firing away. Krog did his part, including a tough glove save on Markus Nurmi halfway through the game. However, he couldn’t stop Valimaki’s rising center point drive (shot #40) to make it 3-1 at 15:38.
At 17:44, Jokiharju put the game out of reach, pinching in to bang home a rebound. Danish coach Olaf Eller called his timeout, but there was nothing he could say to turn the tide now.
In the third period, Finland's biggest moment of concern was when a prone Joni Ikonen accidentally blocked his own teammate's slapper in front of Krog. But he got up and carried on.
During a subsequent Finnish power play, Danish captain Christian Mathiasen-Wesje showed a lot of guts when he stayed on the ice for eons after painfully blocking a Jokiharju drive. When he finally got to the bench, he earned a warm round of applause from the spectators. Perhaps that kind of selflessness will give the Danes something to build on.
LUCAS AYKROYD
