Blackhawks defenseman Henri Jokiharju scored a power play goal in Finland’s 6-1 semifinal win over Switzerland at the World Junior Championship on Friday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Blackhawks forward prospect Philipp Kurashev scored his tournament-leading sixth goal on the power play for Switzerland in the loss.
Fitting that Philipp Kurashev gets the Swiss on the board. 4-1. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/hyRxlFcxJz
— Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisNHL) January 5, 2019
Finland’s Aleksi Heponiemi (Panthers) had a four-point night with a goal and three assists and Rasmus Kapuri (Kings) added a goal and two assists.
Aarne Talvitie (Devils) scored two goals, while Jesse Ylonen (Canadiens) and Jokiharju each tallied one goal.
4-0 Finland after Henri Jokiharju scores. Akira Schmid will take over for the Swiss. Anton Lundell with the screen. #WJC2019 pic.twitter.com/WIJ4hzmAGY
— Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisNHL) January 5, 2019
Finland will face the United States and Blackhawks prospect Evan Barratt in the gold-medal game at 7 p.m. Saturday after Switzerland plays Russia for bronze (3 p.m. puck drop). The Americans defeated Russia 2-1 in the first semifinal Friday night.
Both medal games will be broadcasted on NHL Network in the United State and TSN in Canada.
The Finns are seeking their first medal since winning gold in 2016. Switzerland has a chance to medal for only the second time in tournament history and the first time since 1998.