Blackhawks center prospect Antti Saarela and Finland will play rival Sweden in the bronze-medal game Sunday at the World Junior Championship.
Saarela has no points, nine shots on goal and is 49.2 percent on faceoffs (33-for-67) in six tournament games. Finland won gold at last year’s tournament with a 3-2 win against the United States in Vancouver. It was the Finns’ third gold since 2014.
Canada and Russia will meet in the gold-medal game for the first time since 2015, when Canada won 5-4 in Toronto. Russia fell to Finland the next year then took bronze in 2017 and 2019. The Russians haven’t won the tournament since 2011 when they defeated Canada 5-3 in Buffalo.
Both medal games will be broadcasted on NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada
What’s next
Bronze-medal game: Finland vs. Sweden, 8 a.m.
Gold-medal game: Canada vs. Russia, noon