Finland vs Canada 4-2: Second Period Surge Puts Finns in Gold Medal Game

Finland beat Canada to reach 2026 IIHF final

A 3-goal second period fired Finland past Canada 4-2 at the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship. Finland will face Switzerland in the final after Canada were shut down in the third.

Finland storm back to beat Canada, advance to 2026 World Championship final...

Finland booked a spot in the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship final after rallying from 2-1 down to beat Canada 4-2 in Zurich.

It’s Finland’s first trip to the final since winning gold in 2022. For Canada, the wait to get back to the championship game continues since their last title in 2023.

Finland snapped a run of three straight quarterfinal exits with a convincing 4-1 win over Czechia. Canada matched that momentum with a 4-0 shutout of the United States to knock the defending champions out.

Twenty minutes in, Canada looked poised to take control of the trophy race despite Finland’s fast start. The Finns struck in the 4th minute when Konsta Helenius cleared the puck from his zone. Patrik Puistola chased it down the right wing, cut inside, and blasted a shot into the top corner.

Canada dominated the rest of the opening period though, equalizing less than five minutes later. Finland couldn’t clear their zone, then Denton Mateychuk’s shot deflected off teammate Dylan Holloway and fell perfectly for Robert Thomas to tap in.

The Canadians took the lead six minutes after that. Holloway pulled down a Macklin Celebrini clearance, raced in alone, and beat the goalie off the post.

The second period was all Finland. They tied it up just 49 seconds in when Mikko Lehtonen’s shot was blocked by Mikael Granlund. Granlund tried to jam it home and Aleksander Barkov eventually forced it over the line.

Midway through the game, Granlund and Barkov combined again to put Finland back ahead. They worked the puck down the left side before feeding Helenius, whose shot trickled over the line just before Jet Greaves could swipe it away with his skate.

Finland grabbed a two-goal lead a little over a minute later. Aatu Raty emerged from a goalmouth scramble to score. He took a hooking penalty with two minutes left in the period, but the Finns killed it off and went to the third up 4-2.

Finland's journey continues to the gold medal game! 💪🇫🇮 #MensWorlds #IIHF @leijonat

🔗 Game recap: https://t.co/SdzSjGJS9U pic.twitter.com/PLWg4ytTb4

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 30, 2026

Momentum shifted again in the third period. Canada fired 15 shots on goal to Finland’s 2, but couldn’t break through against a tight defensive structure. Finland also stayed disciplined under pressure and didn’t give up a single powerplay, closing out a 4-2 win and a spot in the gold medal game.

Finland will face host nation Switzerland in the final at 20:20 CEST on Sunday, May 31. Canada will play Norway for bronze at 15:30 CEST after Switzerland routed the Norwegians 6-0 in the other semifinal.