The stakes were high. Winner of the game would take a s ep closer to the quarterfinal, with two games remaining in the preliminary round. Before the game, Finland was third in the standings with eight points, and Latvia fifth with six points.
 
Thanks to their 2-1 win over Latvia, Finland now has 11 points and is one step closer to a quarterfinal berth.

“It was a big game, we both needed the win. It was a good battle, Latvia has a lot of good players and they play a solid team game. Both teams play a good team game with defense first,” said Teuvo Teravainen who collected his eighth assist of the tournament.
 


Juuso Parssinen and Mikko Lehtonen scored for Finland, and Juuse Saros made 20 saves. Kristers Gudlevskis made 28 saves for Latvia.

“We knew they’d come out hard. It was a low-scoring battle but fortunately for us, Juuse [Saros] played a great game. I think we do a good job in these kinds of games and find ways to win,” Teravainen added. 

“It was one of the best games we've played so far, we just couldn't score. There were too many penalties and it’s too bad we couldn't get the points,” said Eduards Tralmaks
 
The first period was Finland’s, albeit not by much. The importance of the game showed, as both teams put defense first, and focused more on eliminating the other team’s chances than creating their own. Finland created a few more chances, while Latvia relied on their transition game, like so many times before.
 
Finland outshot Latvia 12-3 in the period, mostly thanks to their two power play opportunities.
 
With 12.23 remaining in the period, Finland got the lead in the game. Lenni Hameenaho carried the puck into the Latvian zone and found Parssinen driving to the net. He tried to pass the puck between his legs to Patrik Puistola, but before Puistola had a chance to get his stick on it, the puck hit a Latvia defenseman’s skate and bounced in.

“I thought I touched it, but it doesn't matter, the win is what matters,” Puistola said. 
 
The latter half of the period was filled with penalties. Latvia received six minors, Finland four, with three of them coinciding. At one point, there were three Finns and two Latvians in the penalty box.
 
In the third period, Latvia had to go for more offense, and at the halfway point, they had outshot Finland 7-3, but Saros was both unflappable and flawless in Finland’s goal.
 

 

 

 

 

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A Latvian penalty gave Finland some breathing room. The power play almost over, Teuvo Teravainen had the puck on the blueline, he sent a long pass across the ice and Mikko Lehtonen fired a slap shot from the point, beating Gudlevskis low on the blocker side to make it 2-0 at 10.55.

But the game wasn't over yet. With five minutes remaining, Ralfs Freibergs sent a long stretch pass to the Finnish blueline, Rudolfs Balcers took the puck into the zone, and dropped it to Rodrigo Abols, who fired a laser top shelf, ending Saros's shutout attempt to make it 2-1 at 15.09. 

A late power play gave Latvia some hope, and they chased their second goal with six skaters, but the Finnish defense and Saros stood tall, to keep the score at 2-1. 

“Juuse is the calmest person in the world, he’s the same on the ice and off the ice, and just a great person," Parssinen said of the goalie who was named player of the game for Finland. 
 
Finland has games against Canada and Slovakia left on the schedule, Latvia will take on Slovakia and Austria.