It looked like the Finns were finding their game at the 2025 IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship.
Following a quiet first period, in which Finland could only muster four shots on Canadian goaltender Jack Ivankovic, the Finns seemed to be hitting their stride early in the second. Three minutes in, Ivankovic made two incredible saves, with Rasmus Kamarainen drove the Canadian net and got off a strong backhander that was turned away by Ivankovic.
Jesse Parssinen flew in for a rebound and he, too, was robbed by Ivankovic. That seemed to be the moment that turned the game around, as Canada would strike for two goals in 27 seconds later in the period, turning a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 lead and never looking back, eventually winning the game 5-1. The win gives Canada top spot in Group A heading into the quarterfinals, with Finland’s fate not yet sealed as it can finish second or third in the group.
Canada led 1-0 after the first and 4-0 after two periods before the Finns spoiled Ivankovic’s shutout bid with a powerplay strike 4:40 into the third. Brady Martin scored an empty-netter late in the third to ice the win.
"He was unbelievable," Canadian captain Braeden Cootes said of Ivankovic. "He was the reason that game was 5-1. It could have easily been 5-5 or 5-4. He’s great in there. We had too many penalties and too many turnovers that led to chances and he bailed us out there."
Said Canadian head coach Cory Stillman: "We had a tremendous effort in net from (Ivankovic). A good goalie who is playing well can give you a lot of confidence that may lead to some mistakes. We made mistakes, and our goalie bailed us out. Fortunately, we capitalized on our chances early. I’ve said it right from the beginning of this tournament, this team can score goals, but it’s our play away from the puck that we have to get a lot better at."
Finland can take some solace in the fact it outshot Canada 21-3 in the third and 40-20 overall but the story of this game was Ivankovic and, also, Canada’s balanced attack. The winners got goals from Benjamin Kindel, Cootes, Xavier Villeneuve and Cole Reschny. Two of those players – Kindel and Reschny – were playing in their first game of the tournament as they recently joined Team Canada with their Western Hockey seasons coming to an end.
"It was not good enough. Next time, we have to play better for the full game," said Kamarainen, who had that glorious chance in the second period. "Their goalie was very good. When you get a chance, you must have focus if you want to score."
Kindel opened the scoring with a sizzler of a one-timer from the top of the circle that beat Patrik Kerkola. Kindel, who scored 35 goals and had 99 points for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen this season, found some soft ice and finished a play set up by Ryan Roobroecl.
"It’s really special to get to represent my country and it’s exciting," said Kindel of his debut. "It took some getting used to but, as the first period went on, I adjusted."
Canada took a 2-0 lead six minutes into the second with a play started by Brady Martin in his own end, who eluded a Finnish forechecker and made a pass to Lev Katzin. Katzin rushed to the Finnish net and faked a shot then backhanded a pass to Cootes, who one-timed the puck in.
Before the goal could be announced on the PA system, defenceman Villeneuve continued his strong tournament with a beautiful shot from the top of the circle.
Canada made it 4-0 with a 5-on-3 powerplay goal. Kindel put the puck on a tee for Cole Reschny and he blasted it past Kerkola.
"We have a really deep team here," Cootes said of Canada's balanced attack. "At this kind of tournament, you want a lot of guys scoring. You don’t just want to rely on two or three guys. In those medal games, there’s bottom-line guys that step up and score big goals too."
The Finns' lone goal came on a third-period powerplay when Jere Somervuori tipped in a point shot from Lasse Boelius. It was a nice goal by the Finns who showed quick puck movement to finally solve Ivankovic.
Finland has now completed its preliminary round and will await a quarterfinal opponent, with Canada having one last game on Sunday against Norway before the quarters. The Finns are trying to earn a medal at the U18s for the first time since 2022 (bronze) while Canada is attempting to be the first repeat champion since Team USA did it in 2014 and 2015.
Following a quiet first period, in which Finland could only muster four shots on Canadian goaltender Jack Ivankovic, the Finns seemed to be hitting their stride early in the second. Three minutes in, Ivankovic made two incredible saves, with Rasmus Kamarainen drove the Canadian net and got off a strong backhander that was turned away by Ivankovic.
Jesse Parssinen flew in for a rebound and he, too, was robbed by Ivankovic. That seemed to be the moment that turned the game around, as Canada would strike for two goals in 27 seconds later in the period, turning a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 lead and never looking back, eventually winning the game 5-1. The win gives Canada top spot in Group A heading into the quarterfinals, with Finland’s fate not yet sealed as it can finish second or third in the group.
Canada led 1-0 after the first and 4-0 after two periods before the Finns spoiled Ivankovic’s shutout bid with a powerplay strike 4:40 into the third. Brady Martin scored an empty-netter late in the third to ice the win.
"He was unbelievable," Canadian captain Braeden Cootes said of Ivankovic. "He was the reason that game was 5-1. It could have easily been 5-5 or 5-4. He’s great in there. We had too many penalties and too many turnovers that led to chances and he bailed us out there."
Said Canadian head coach Cory Stillman: "We had a tremendous effort in net from (Ivankovic). A good goalie who is playing well can give you a lot of confidence that may lead to some mistakes. We made mistakes, and our goalie bailed us out. Fortunately, we capitalized on our chances early. I’ve said it right from the beginning of this tournament, this team can score goals, but it’s our play away from the puck that we have to get a lot better at."
Finland can take some solace in the fact it outshot Canada 21-3 in the third and 40-20 overall but the story of this game was Ivankovic and, also, Canada’s balanced attack. The winners got goals from Benjamin Kindel, Cootes, Xavier Villeneuve and Cole Reschny. Two of those players – Kindel and Reschny – were playing in their first game of the tournament as they recently joined Team Canada with their Western Hockey seasons coming to an end.
"It was not good enough. Next time, we have to play better for the full game," said Kamarainen, who had that glorious chance in the second period. "Their goalie was very good. When you get a chance, you must have focus if you want to score."
Kindel opened the scoring with a sizzler of a one-timer from the top of the circle that beat Patrik Kerkola. Kindel, who scored 35 goals and had 99 points for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen this season, found some soft ice and finished a play set up by Ryan Roobroecl.
"It’s really special to get to represent my country and it’s exciting," said Kindel of his debut. "It took some getting used to but, as the first period went on, I adjusted."
Canada took a 2-0 lead six minutes into the second with a play started by Brady Martin in his own end, who eluded a Finnish forechecker and made a pass to Lev Katzin. Katzin rushed to the Finnish net and faked a shot then backhanded a pass to Cootes, who one-timed the puck in.
Before the goal could be announced on the PA system, defenceman Villeneuve continued his strong tournament with a beautiful shot from the top of the circle.
Canada made it 4-0 with a 5-on-3 powerplay goal. Kindel put the puck on a tee for Cole Reschny and he blasted it past Kerkola.
"We have a really deep team here," Cootes said of Canada's balanced attack. "At this kind of tournament, you want a lot of guys scoring. You don’t just want to rely on two or three guys. In those medal games, there’s bottom-line guys that step up and score big goals too."
The Finns' lone goal came on a third-period powerplay when Jere Somervuori tipped in a point shot from Lasse Boelius. It was a nice goal by the Finns who showed quick puck movement to finally solve Ivankovic.
Finland has now completed its preliminary round and will await a quarterfinal opponent, with Canada having one last game on Sunday against Norway before the quarters. The Finns are trying to earn a medal at the U18s for the first time since 2022 (bronze) while Canada is attempting to be the first repeat champion since Team USA did it in 2014 and 2015.
Finland vs Canada - 2025 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship
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