Arthur Kaliyev (OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs) scored the game-winner with 1:16 left in regulation to lift the U.S. National Junior Team to a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Finland Monday night in Edmonton in the semifinals of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
With the win, Team USA will play in tonight’s gold medal game against host Canada. Opening faceoff is set for 9:30 p.m. EST and the game can be seen live on NHL Network.
“It was a great hockey game, and hats off to Finland for being a great team,” said Team USA coach Nate Leaman (Providence) in a statement. “We showed a lot of mental toughness. When they tied it up, our playmakers went out and made a great play to win the game. We’re very happy to be playing for gold (tonight).”
Alex Turcotte (Wisconsin), John Farinacci (Harvard) and Matt Boldy (Boston College) also scored for the Americans.
In goal, Spencer Knight (Boston College) finished with 33 saves.
For Canada, Devon Levi (Northeastern) made 27 saves in a 5-0 shutout over Russia.
“I feel like I’ve been repeating myself, but (Levi is) really assertive,” Canada coach Andre Tourigny told TSN. “He’s really confident for us, (and) we’re glad to have him on our side.”
Alex Newhook (Boston College) opened the scoring for Canada, which picked up its second straight shutout after blanking the Czech Republic 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
Newhook missed the quarterfinal game with an injury.
Canada has yet to trail at any point in the tournament.
