photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andre Ringuette
Team USA is through to the semifinal at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Stockholm. Conor Garland scored twice as Team USA beat Finland 5-2.
“I liked our game for the last 30 minutes. We were fortunate to convert on our chances.," said Garland who will play in his third semifinal.
For Finland, this marks the third consecutive time they lose an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship quarterfinal.
“It was a tight game, I think we were the better team five-on-five, but they were effective when they got their chances,” Finnish forward Juuso Parssinen said.
As expected, the game got off to a tentative start as both teams made sure to avoid mistakes and ease themselves into the game. Team USA got on the board first, on power play.
Zach Werenski carried the puck into the zone, and flipped the puck to Logan Cooley on his left, and Cooley immediately found Conor Garland driving to the net on the right. The two passes sent Finnish defense into disarray, and Garland had all the time in the world to look where to shoot, and his wrister beat Saros on the blocker side at 4:50.
Finland tied the game, also on power play, and unsurprisingly, the goal was scored by their first line. Teuvo Teravainen shot from the point, Swayman made a save, but Eeli Tolvanen slammed in the rebound at 12:58. It was his seventh goal of the tournament.
Team USA’s penalty troubles continued. Finland had their fourth power play opportunity about seven minutes into the period, and once again Teravainen & Co delivered. Lehtonen played the puck to Teravainen on the left flank, his saucer pass found Patrik Puistola in the middle and he one-timed it in to give Finland a 2-1 lead at 7:46. The assist was Teravainen’s tenth assist in the tournament.
Team USA rallied back, by scoring two goals in 71 seconds, both with one-man advantage, albeit that the 2-2 came during a delayed penalty with six skaters on the ice. Zeev Buium slammed in a rebound from the doorstep at 14:53.
There was still another Finnish penalty coming in the same shift and Team USA continued on power play. Tage Thompson found Garland on his way to the net, and the feisty forward somehow managed to lob the puck into the net at 16:04, his second of the night.
“That was a tough minute,” Parssinen said.
The Finnish defense didn’t make many mistakes, but they did make one small error in the third period, and two passes later, Shane Pinto scored Team USA’s fourth goal. Cutter Gauthier found Will Smith on the left, and he waited for Pinto to show up in the slot. Smith sent a saucer across ice and Pinto scored with a wrister on the blocker side – a carbon copy of the first goal – to extend the Americans’ lead to two at 8:56.
“We stuck with what we said in the locker room before the game and tried to get pucks behind their defense. We did a good job with that against the Czechs and got back to that strategy,” Alex Vlasic said.
Clayton Keller could seal the final score, 5-2, into an empty Finnish net at 17:15.
“The last couple of games have proved that we keep up with anybody. We have the belief in the locker room. I don't think we've hit our full potential yet,” Vlasic said.
“I liked our game for the last 30 minutes. We were fortunate to convert on our chances.," said Garland who will play in his third semifinal.
For Finland, this marks the third consecutive time they lose an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship quarterfinal.
“It was a tight game, I think we were the better team five-on-five, but they were effective when they got their chances,” Finnish forward Juuso Parssinen said.
As expected, the game got off to a tentative start as both teams made sure to avoid mistakes and ease themselves into the game. Team USA got on the board first, on power play.
Zach Werenski carried the puck into the zone, and flipped the puck to Logan Cooley on his left, and Cooley immediately found Conor Garland driving to the net on the right. The two passes sent Finnish defense into disarray, and Garland had all the time in the world to look where to shoot, and his wrister beat Saros on the blocker side at 4:50.
Finland tied the game, also on power play, and unsurprisingly, the goal was scored by their first line. Teuvo Teravainen shot from the point, Swayman made a save, but Eeli Tolvanen slammed in the rebound at 12:58. It was his seventh goal of the tournament.
Team USA’s penalty troubles continued. Finland had their fourth power play opportunity about seven minutes into the period, and once again Teravainen & Co delivered. Lehtonen played the puck to Teravainen on the left flank, his saucer pass found Patrik Puistola in the middle and he one-timed it in to give Finland a 2-1 lead at 7:46. The assist was Teravainen’s tenth assist in the tournament.
Team USA rallied back, by scoring two goals in 71 seconds, both with one-man advantage, albeit that the 2-2 came during a delayed penalty with six skaters on the ice. Zeev Buium slammed in a rebound from the doorstep at 14:53.
There was still another Finnish penalty coming in the same shift and Team USA continued on power play. Tage Thompson found Garland on his way to the net, and the feisty forward somehow managed to lob the puck into the net at 16:04, his second of the night.
“That was a tough minute,” Parssinen said.
The Finnish defense didn’t make many mistakes, but they did make one small error in the third period, and two passes later, Shane Pinto scored Team USA’s fourth goal. Cutter Gauthier found Will Smith on the left, and he waited for Pinto to show up in the slot. Smith sent a saucer across ice and Pinto scored with a wrister on the blocker side – a carbon copy of the first goal – to extend the Americans’ lead to two at 8:56.
“We stuck with what we said in the locker room before the game and tried to get pucks behind their defense. We did a good job with that against the Czechs and got back to that strategy,” Alex Vlasic said.
Clayton Keller could seal the final score, 5-2, into an empty Finnish net at 17:15.
“The last couple of games have proved that we keep up with anybody. We have the belief in the locker room. I don't think we've hit our full potential yet,” Vlasic said.
United States vs. Finland- 2025 IIHF WM
OF