Monday, November 25, 2024

USA and Finland compete for gold medal spot

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The 2024 World Juniors continue Thursday, with the U.S. facing Finland in the semifinals.

Watch the battle between the United States and Finland live on the TSN Network, TSN.ca and the TSN App at 1:30 PM ET/10:30 AM PT.

The United States defeated Latvia 7-2 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals.

New York Rangers prospect Gabriel Perreault scored two goals and three points, and New Jersey Devils prospect Seamus Casey contributed with three assists.

Forwards Oliver Moore, Will Smith, Rutger McGroarty and Danny Nelson, and defenseman Drew Fortescue also scored for the United States.

Goaltender Jacob Fowler stopped 23 of 25 shots in the win. The Montreal Canadiens prospect is 3-0 in all competitions with an .889 save percentage and a 2.59 goals against average.

Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Isaac Howard led the tournament with seven goals and nine points, while Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier had a goal and nine points.

The United States advanced to Group B with a 3-1-0-0 record in the qualifying round. They are looking to reach their first final since winning gold at the 2021 World Juniors in Edmonton.

Finland will advance to the semifinals after opening the tournament with two consecutive losses to Canada and Germany.

The Finns defeated Latvia and narrowly defeated Sweden in a penalty shootout in the final round-robin game, making it through to the qualifying round.

Then on Tuesday, Finland shocked the competition by defeating Slovakia 4-3 in overtime in the quarterfinals.

Finland led 3-2 with 43 seconds left in the third period, but Canadian prospect Philippe Messard scored for Slovakia, sending the game into overtime.

Seconds into extra time, Finnish captain Jere Lasila beat netminder Adam Gajan for the winner.

Goaltender Niklas Kokko stopped 27 of 30 shots in the win. He has a 1-2 record in the tournament with an .885 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA.

Lasila leads the Finnish team with three goals and seven points, while San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Haltunen has three goals and six points.

Finland is aiming for its first gold medal since losing in overtime to Canada at the 2022 Edmonton Games.



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