Canada routs Finland, advances to WJHC gold medal game

Canada and Russia will play for gold Sunday.

The Canadian squad defeated Finland 5-0 in the second semifinal at the World Junior Championship on Saturday, avenging a quarterfinal defeat to the Finns in last year's tournament.

Alexis Lafreniere tallied twice in Saturday's contest, including a power-play marker late in the second period. Canada struck three times in the opening four minutes and led 4-0 at the first intermission.

The win came at a cost, however, as Canada's captain and leading goal-scorer Barrett Hayton suffered an injury late in the contest.

Connor McMichael, Jamie Drysdale, and Ty Dellandrea also scored for Canada, which is seeking its third world junior gold in six years and first since 2018.

Canadian goaltender Joel Hofer stopped all 32 shots he faced to preserve the shutout.

Russia slipped past Sweden with an overtime victory in the first semifinal Saturday.