Finland edges Canada in OT to win gold at World Championship

Finland defeated Canada 4-3 in overtime on home ice to win gold at the 2022 IIHF World Championship on Sunday, capturing its second title in the last three tournaments.

Sakari Manninen scored the golden goal.

The turning point came in the third period with Canada winning 1-0. With the Canadians already shorthanded, Cole Sillinger was called for high-sticking Miro Heiskanen to give Finland a five-on-three power play, but Heiskanen actually clipped himself in the face with his own stick.

Mikael Granlund tied it up on the two-man advantage, and Canadian goaltender Chris Driedger was injured stretching across to try and make the save. With third-stringer Matt Tomkins in net (backup Logan Thompson was injured earlier in the tournament) and Sillinger still in the box, Granlund scored again to give Finland the lead.

Joel Armia added another in the third period to make it 3-1.

Canada didn't go down without a fight, though. Zach Whitecloud brought the Canadians within a goal before Max Comtois' equalizer forced overtime.

However, Manninen notched the OT winner on the power play after Thomas Chabot took a hooking penalty.

Finnish goalie Jussi Olkinuora was named tournament MVP after posting eight wins, four shutouts, a .948 save percentage, and a 1.11 goals-against average in 10 games. He was also one of three Finns named to the media All-Star team.

It marked the third straight gold-medal meeting between Canada and Finland. Finland won in 2019, while Canada was victorious in 2021. The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the pandemic.

Finnish hockey appears to have entered into a golden era. In addition to the nation's recent success at the Worlds, the Finns are also the reigning Olympic gold medalists in men's hockey, having won at the 2022 Beijing Games. Finland has also captured three of the last eight World Junior Championship titles.