Blackhawks center prospect Antti Saarela and Finland fell 3-2 to rival Sweden in the World Junior Championship bronze-medal game Sunday at Ostravar Arena in Ostravar, Czech Republic.
Saarela was 6-for-12 on faceoffs, was on ice for one goal against and served two penalties in 13:54. The 2019 fourth-round draft pick had nine shots on goal and was 49.3 percent on faceoffs (39-for-79) in seven tournament games.
“Don’t get offside, don’t get offside… ” 🙏 – Antti Saarela #thatsgottahurt @leijonat #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/lw7H1oOQzw
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 5, 2020
Saarela played on the first and third line for Finland, which had first-period goals from Patrik Puistola (Hurricanes) and Matias Maccelli (Coyotes).
Linus Oberg scored the go-ahead goal in the second period for Sweden, who won bronze for the first time since 2010. Rasmus Sandin (Maple Leafs) also scored for Sweden, and the tournament’s leading scorer Samuel Fagemo (Kings) had the other goal.
Swedish Hugo Alnefelt (Lightning) made 21 saves, including a glove save on Lassi Thomson (Senators) with six seconds remaining in the game when Finland had an extra attacker. Justus Annunen (Avalanche) made 18 saves.