Jason La Rose
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. FINLAND (JAN. 5)
Canada’s National Junior Team closes out the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship on Monday afternoon, facing off against Finland in the bronze medal game at Grand Casino Arena.
Last Game
Canada dropped a close one in its Sunday semifinal, erasing three one-goal deficits over the final 40 minutes before Czechia scored the winner with just 74 seconds remaining in what finished as a 6-4 defeat. Jack Ivankovic was terrific between the pipes, finishing with 31 saves, and the Canadians got goals from Tij Iginla, Zayne Parekh, Cole Reschny and Porter Martone.
The Finns could not have come any closer to the gold medal game without actually getting there, falling 4-3 in a shootout to Sweden. Aron Kiviharju hit the crossbar on an overtime power play, and Finland had three separate chances to earn the win in the shootout before coming up just short. Atte Joki scored in the first period, Jasper Kuhta scored in the second and Joona Saarelainen tied the game with 5:59 left in the third.
Last Meeting
The Canadians and Finns met just five days ago, capping off the preliminary round on New Year’s Eve. The teams combined for four goals on the first four shots and six total goals in the first period before Canada netted four of the last five in a 7-4 win. Brady Martin and Cole Beaudoin scored two goals apiece, Beaudoin and Parekh had three points each and the Canadians outshot Finland 24-10 over the final 40 minutes to finish an unbeaten preliminary round and earn first place in Group B.
What to Watch
Michael Hage was all over the puck again Sunday against the Czechs, picking up two more assists, hitting three posts and coming close on a second-period penalty shot. The Toronto native has racked up 11 points (2-9—11) in six games, good for a tie atop the tournament scoring race with Parekh and Czech forward Vojtech Cihar. Hage is one of just three Canadians—along with Parekh and Gavin McKenna—to record points in all six games, and he has four multi-point efforts, something only Hage and Parekh can claim. Reschny made his presence felt with the injury absence of Brady Martin, scoring the 3-3 goal early in the third period (after potentially making it 2-2 in the second… the IIHF may want to have a look at that one). The Macklin, Saskatchewan, product skated a tournament-high 17:21 and earned Player of the Game honours for the Canadians.
Petteri Rimpinen has to be getting tired, right? The Finnish goaltender has been an absolute workhorse over the last two World Juniors, playing every single second across both tournaments—more than 810 minutes in all over 13 (soon to be 14, in all likelihood) games. Rimpinen earned Best Goaltender honours last year in Ottawa, posting a 2.34 goals-against average and .933 save percentage while backstopping Finland to overtime in the gold medal game. The numbers aren’t quite as good in Minnesota (2.57 GAA and .883 SV%), but Rimpinen has shown he has the ability to steal a game (and he came within one save, or one goal from his skaters of a return trip to the final). A fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2025 (152nd overall), he has been a mainstay in the Finnish crease—since 2022, he has played in a World U17 Hockey Challenge, two Hlinka Gretzky Cups, an IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship and two World Juniors.
Be There Next Year!
The holiday hockey tradition returns to Canadian ice a year from now when Edmonton and Red Deer host the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship. Fans interested in ticket packages can register until Jan. 6 for the Priority Ticket Draw at HockeyCanada.ca/PriorityDraw.
A Look Back
Going all the way back to the first World Juniors in 1977, only the United States (50 games played) has been a more frequent foe for Canada than the Finns (44).
It’ll be the ninth time Canada and Finland will face off in the playoff round, but just the second in the bronze medal game—in 2012 in Calgary, Quinton Howden scored a pair of goals and Mark Visentin posted a 27-save shutout to lead the Canadians to a 4-0 win.
All-time record: Canada leads 29-9-6 (1-1 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 179 Finland goals: 111