(sda) The Germans also held up well against Finland. In the first third the shot ratio was 9: 5 (total 28:17) in their favor, but they went into the first break with a 0: 2 deficit. They conceded both goals themselves. In the 0: 1 (14th) goalie Mathias Niederberger let a durable shot by Iiro Pakarinen pass, the 0: 2 by Hannes Björninen (19th) was preceded by a mistake by Lukas Reichel.
Even in the quarter-finals against Switzerland, the Germans fell 2-0 behind, but this time the mortgage was too heavy. They managed to hit the next goal again – Matthias Plachta scored in the 32nd minute in the power play – and once again put their stamp on the game in the last third. But despite some very good chances, Marcus Noebels, penalty hero against the Swiss, missed one in the 55th minute, but this time they were denied the 2-2. The Germans lost 2-1 to the Finns in the group stage. In the game for third place, they now have another opportunity to secure their first World Cup medal since 1953.
Canada is in the final for the fifth time in the last six World Championships. The match winner against the USA was Andrew Mangiapane, who had not yet been available to the team in the first three games, all of which were lost. The Calgary Flames striker was responsible for the 2-1 (25th) and 3-1 (41st). Mangiapane now has seven goals and four assists. Connor Brown did the preparatory work for both goals. The Ottawa Senators striker now totaled eleven assists and 13 scorer points, making him the new number 1 in this statistic.
Brandon Pirri had put the Canadians in the lead after 122 seconds, Colin Blackwell (18th) equalized for the Americans. 24 seconds before the end, Justin Danforth made everything clear with a shot into the empty housing after the USA reduced it to 2: 3 (44th) through Sasha Chmelevski.
The fact that the Canadians are in the final is nothing unusual in and of itself, but after their performance in the preliminary round it is a surprise. If there had been no winner after 60 minutes in the match between Germany and hosts Latvia (2: 1) on Tuesday evening and Kazakhstan had not lost the last game against Norway (1: 3), the “maple leaves” would already be at home. Now, after Russia in the quarter-finals (2-1 nV), they also eliminated the Americans, who had previously won seven times in a row and defeated Canada (5-1). So the USA’s wait for the first final at a World Cup since 1960 continues.
Canada and Finland had already faced each other in the final in 1994, 2007, 2016 and at the last World Cup in 2019. The North Americans won the first three times, two years ago the Finns surprisingly won 3-1. If the Canadians prevail again this time, it would be the 27th World Cup title for them, which would enable them to catch up with record holder Russia. Finland wants to climb the World Cup throne for the fourth time.
USA – Canada 2: 4 (1: 1, 0: 1, 1: 2)
Riga, arena. – SR Bruggeman / Gouin (USA / CAN), McCrank / Oliver (CAN / USA). – Goals: 3rd Pirri (Walker, Paul) 0-1. 18. Blackwell (Wolanin, Labanc) 1: 1. 25. Mangiapane (Brown) 1: 2. 41. (40:26) Mangiapane (Brown, Kuemper) 1: 3. 44. Chmelevski (Rooney, Mackey) 2: 3. 60. (59:36) Danforth (Paul) 2: 4 (into the empty gate). – Penalties: 1 time 2 minutes against the USA, none against Canada.
USA: Petersen; Hellickson, Wolanin; Tennyson, Jones; Wideman, Mackey; Clendening; Garland, Moore, Robertson; Thompson, Drury, Donato; Beniers, Blackwell, Labanc; Chmelevski, Boyle, Rooney.
Kanada: Kuemper; Walker, Ferraro; Stecher, Power; Bernard-Docker, Beaudin; Schneider; Brown, Henrique, Mangiapane; Bunting, Vilardi, Comtois; Pirri, Danforth, Paul; Foudy, Anderson-Dolan, Hagel;
Remarks: USA without Abdelkader (injured). USA from 58:36 to 59:36 without a goalie.
Finland – Germany 2: 1 (2: 0, 0: 1, 0: 0)
Riga, arena. – SR Björk / Nord (SWE), Hynek / Ondracek. – Goals: 14. Pakarinen (Lundell, Kaski) 1-0. 19. Bjorninen (Anttila) 2-0. 32. Plachta (Seider / Exclusion Sund) 2: 1. – Penalties: 4 times 2 minutes against Finland, 3 times 2 minutes against Germany.
Finland: Olkinuora; Koivisto, Sund; Kaski, Määtä; Pokka, Ohtamää; Nousiainen, Lindbohm; Anttila, Björninen, Mäenalanen; Ojamäki, Lundell, Swedish; Pakarinen, Kontiola, Innala; Sallinen, Ruohomaa, Turunen.
Germany: Niederberger; Seider, Moritz Müller; Holzer, Jonas Müller; Nowak, Wagner; Gawanke; Pföderl, Reichel, Noebels; Plachta, Kahun, Eisenschmid; Rieder, Loibl, Kühnhackl; Peterka, Kastner, Kramer; Tiffels.
Notes: 33rd Post Shot Ojamäki. Germany from 58:12 without goalie.
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