Chicago Blackhawks prospect Henri Jokiharju was named player of the game in Finland’s 4-1 win over Denmark on Thursday at the World Junior Championships at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Jokiharju, 18, scored his second goal of the tournament and added an assist along with six shots on net and played a game-high 23 minutes, 54 seconds.
#WJC: Finns up on Denmark 4-1 after 40, with a 44-7 advantage in shots. RHD Henri Jokiharju (CHI 1st/2017) capped the scoring in the middle frame with this goal off a scramble in front. LHD Miro Heiskanen (DAL 1st/2017) has a pair of assists. pic.twitter.com/dRXGCaZc40
— Steve Kournianos (@TheDraftAnalyst) December 28, 2017
The defenseman, Chicago’s first-round draft pick this year, has scored a goal in each of his first two preliminary round tournament games.
Jokiharju recorded 37 points in 31 games for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks before leaving to join Finland, who is a contender to win gold in Buffalo. Gold medalists at the 2014 and 2016 World Juniors, Finland got revenge after last year’s preliminary round loss to Denmark sent them to the relegation stage. Finland dropped their first game of the 2018 tournament with a 4-2 loss to Canada.
Finland has Friday off before returning to the ice at 4 p.m. Saturday against Slovakia, who play the United States on Thursday night.