The Finns are in.
Finland earned a spot in the semifinals of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Scandinavian rival Sweden in the quarterfinals. Roni Hirvonen's wraparound goal with 23.3 seconds remaining in regulation gave his country the eventual victory.
"I think we had a good pressure in the last minute and then we had a chance right before that," the Maple Leafs prospect said. "I just continued that pressure and a good scramble at the net and it went in, and so it was great."
He added later: "It's just an unbelievable feeling when you score a goal like that . . . I think that was the biggest goal I ever scored."
FINLAND PULLS AHEAD!
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 2, 2021
Roni Hirvonen puts Finland ahead 3-2 with just 23.3 seconds to go. pic.twitter.com/Dj1cO35Xum
At the end of the opening frame, Finland was trailing 2-0 and getting outworked. They looked to be headed out of the Edmonton bubble. Sweden's Lucas Raymond and Elmer Soderblom potted the markers; the latter, once again, scored between the legs.
Jets prospect Henri Nikkanen scored for Finland in the second, and another goal was disallowed when his future NHL teammate Ville Heinola went offside on a smooth move at the blue line. Anton Lundell netted a tying power-play goal with just under nine minutes left in third, followed by Hirvonen's dramatics at the end.
"I think it was a tough first for us but we definitely stuck as a team in the next two periods," said Brad Lambert. "We got that first goal there that was huge and got some excitement on the bench. Then we scored the other one but it was disallowed but I think we still had good momentum and a lot of energy. We just kept going and stuck together and it was an unbelievable feeling to win that one."
It's always big for Finland to beat the Swedes, especially in 2021. They lost to their neighbors in the bronze-medal game of last year's World Juniors.
Hirvonen's goal was his first of the tournament and fifth point. Selected in the second round of the 2020 draft (59th overall) by the Leafs, he had nine points (five goals, four assists) in 21 games with Assat in Liiga prior to the WJC.