Finland Dominates Slovenia 9-1 at World Hockey Championship

Finland bounces back at the 2025 World Hockey Championship with a dominant 9-1 win over Slovenia. Eeli Tolvanen scores four goals, including a stunning individual effort.

Finland bounced back with a dominant 9-1 victory over Slovenia at the 2025 World Hockey Championship in Stockholm. This convincing win marked the biggest victory of the tournament so far.

The Finns had faced scrutiny after lackluster wins over Austria and France, followed by a narrow loss to Sweden. Against Slovenia, however, they delivered a strong performance to ease the pressure and boost their standings in Group A.

Finland got off to a strong start, scoring just under three minutes in. Eemil Erholtz controlled the puck behind the net and set up Mikko Lehtonen, who scored his first goal of the tournament.

Lehtonen's wait for his second goal was brief, scoring again 4.5 minutes later. He and Teuvo Teravainen evaded Slovenian pressure and Lehtonen fired a powerful shot into the top corner, beating goalie Matija Pintaric.

Finland's lead grew to 3-0 in the 12th minute. Leni Hameenaho made a strong play into the attacking zone, setting up Vili Saarijarvi, who scored with ease from in front of the net.

Slovenia pulled one back four minutes into the second period. Jan Drozg created space for a shot, and Marcel Mahkovec set up Bine Masic, who scored past Juuse Saros.

Masic nearly doubled Slovenia's tally less than a minute later, skillfully maneuvering around Saros but failing to finish into the empty net from a tight angle.

Finland eased the pressure with a goal seven minutes into the second period. Teuvo Teravainen won an attacking faceoff and set up Eeli Tolvanen, who scored with a simple tap-in.

Finland roared tonight! @leijonat🦁

Game Recap👇https://t.co/dI8rqqxnWS#MensWorlds #IIHF pic.twitter.com/1RSWiF6H1I

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 15, 2025

Two minutes later, Finland extended their lead when Leni Hameenaho scored. A clever attack starting behind Finland's goal ended with Waltteri Merala finding Hameenaho in space, and he fired the puck past Pintaric.

Finland maintained pressure late in the second period, eventually breaking through when Eeli Tolvanen found space on the left side and scored past Lukas Horak.

Tolvanen completed his hat-trick before the 40-minute mark with an impressive individual effort. He picked up the puck in the Finnish zone, beat the Slovenian defense, and chipped the ball over Horak's shoulder to make it 7-1.

Finland continued to score freely in the third period, even while shorthanded. Just eight seconds after a penalty, Nikolas Matinpalo broke down the right wing and scored Finland's eighth goal past Horak.

Finland's ninth goal came over 10 minutes later, with Teuvo Teravainen setting up Eeli Tolvanen for his fourth goal of the match and sixth of the championship.

Finland's 9-1 victory kept Slovenia at the bottom of the standings with zero points and a -17 goal difference after four matches.

The win boosted Finland to eight points, moving them into third place in the group, one point behind Canada. Finland's next match is against Latvia on Saturday.