U.S. Tops Finland 3-2 in Overtime at Men's Worlds

Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich.) scored 3:47 into overtime and Cory Schneider (Marblehead, Mass.) had 24 stops to lift the U.S. past Finland, 3-2, in its third preliminary round game of the 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship.

“We’re taking steps in the right direction and that’s great to see,” said Jeff Blashill, head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team and also the bench boss of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. “They’re (Finland) a tough team to play against and I give our guys a lot of credit. They battled hard all game long and deserved to get rewarded with points.”

The U.S. Men's National Team (1-1-0-1/W-OTW-OTL-L) returns to action Wednesday (May 15) when it continues preliminary round play against Great Britain. Puck drop is set for 4:15 p.m. local time (10:15 a.m. ET) at Steel Arena in Kosice, Slovakia. That game, and every U.S. game, will be broadcast live in the U.S. on NHL Network.

Highlights

The U.S. didn’t waste any time to open the scoring as Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn.) converted on Team USA’s first shot of the game just 50 seconds into play. Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.) brought the puck into the zone and dished it off to Alex DeBrincat (Farmington Hills, Mich.), who circled back up the boards and fed the puck to an oncoming Skjei for a one-timed slapshot that squeaked past Finland goaltender Veini Vehvilainen’s right pad.

Johnny Gaudreau (Salem, N.J.) then doubled the U.S. lead at the 10:36 mark with a sharp-angled shot from below the goal line. Eichel was again behind the play, this time winning a faceoff to the right of goal that allowed Gaudreau to collect the puck and skate down low before banking a shot off Vehvilainen’s back and into the top corner.

DeBrincat looked to give the U.S. a three-goal lead with six minutes to play in the first period off a one-timer right in front, but it was saved by Vehvilainen.

Finland cut Team USA’s lead in half with 55 seconds left in the first period when Harri Pesonen rushed down the left wall and tucked a shot under the arm of U.S. goaltender Schneider.

With the U.S. leading 2-1, Larkin had a breakaway opportunity four minutes into the middle frame that drew Vehvilainen before the puck bounced off his stick and away from the goal.

Just minutes later, Clayton Keller (St. Louis, Mo.) nearly regained a two-goal U.S. lead when he and James van Reimsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) connected for a 2-on-1 opportunity that was turned away. Moments later, Colin White (Hanover, Mass.) joined in on the offensive press with a semi-breakaway chance right in front, but the score remained, 2-1.

Finland equalized the contest with 33 seconds left in the second on the power play when Sakari Manninen fed the puck into the slot, where Niko Ojamaki fired a one-timer over Schneider’s right shoulder and into goal.

Neither team scored in the third period as the game entered a five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime session.

The U.S. had the better of the play in the extra frame and Larkin ended the contest after he collected a pass from Quinn Hughes (Orlando, Fla.), skated into the slot and tucked a quick-wristed effort beneath Vehvilainen’s right arm for the game-winning goal.

Postgame Comments

Dylan Larkin

Johnny Gaudreau

Brady Skjei

NOTES: Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn.) was named the U.S. Player of the Game ... The U.S. outshot Finland 29-26, went 0-1 on the powerplay and 1-2 on the penalty kill ... For complete game statistics, click here ... For complete coverage of the U.S. Men’s National Team, visit teamusa.usahockey.com/2019mensworlds … The official IIHF home of the 2019 IIHF Men’s World Championship is 2019.IIHFWorlds.com.

PREGAME INFORMATION

U.S. Game Schedule

Final Statistics

Date	Opponent/Round	Time (Local/ET)/Result	Location	Television	U.S. Player of the Game
Tues., May 7	Germany Pre-Tournament	W, 5-2	SAP Arena Mannheim, Germany	Live Stream	Johnny Gaudreau
Fri., May 10	Slovakia Preliminary	L, 1-4	Steel Arena Kosice, Slovakia	NHL Network	Jack Eichel
Sun., May 12	France Preliminary	W, 7-1	Steel Arena Kosice, Slovakia	NHL Network	Alex DeBrincat
Mon., May 13	Finland Preliminary	OTW, 3-2	Steel Arena Kosice, Slovakia	NHL Network	Brady Skjei
Wed., May 15	Great Britain Preliminary	W, 6-3	Steel Arena Kosice, Slovakia	NHL Network	Patrick Kane
Sat., May 18	Denmark Preliminary	W, 7-1	Steel Arena Kosice, Slovakia	NHL Network	Dylan Larkin
Sun., May 19	Germany Preliminary	W, 3-1	Steel Arena Kosice, Slovakia	NHL Network	Alec Martinez
Tues., May 21	Canada Preliminary	L, 0-3	Steel Arena Kosice, Slovakia	NHL Network	Cory Schneider
Thurs., May 23	Russia Quarterfinal	L, 3-4	Ondrej Nepela Arena Bratislava, Slovakia	NHL Network	Jack Hughes