2019 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships Gold Medal Game – Canada vs Finland Preview & Prediction
AT A GLANCE
When does Canada vs Finland start? Sunday, 26th May, 19:15
Where Canada vs Finland taking place? Ondrej Nepela Arena, Slovakia
What television channel is Canada vs Finland on? This match will be televised live on FreeSports (Sky channel 422)
Where can I stream Canada vs Finland? Canada vs Finland will not be streamed live on UK TV
Are tickets still available for Canada vs Finland? https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2019/wm/static/6180/tickets
THE STATISTICS
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Last meeting: Finland 3-1 Canada
THE TEAM NEWS
CANADA
- Canada come into this Gold Medal game desperate to win their first World Championships since 2016 and after squeezing past the Swiss in the quarter-finals in over-time, they comfortably dispatched the Czechs on Saturday night to reach the final.
- After losing their opening game of the tournament two and a half weeks ago to Finland, they have won every game since then and they now face off against the Finns once again determined to avenge that 3-1 loss.
- Forward Mark Stone has emerged as their key man as he scored once more against the Czechs on Saturday night after his two-goal heroics against the Swiss and he is now the tournament’s leading goalscorer with eight overall.
FINLAND
- Finland pulled off one of the results of the tournament and recent World Championships’ history by beating a star-studded Russia team 1-0 on Saturday to reach the final and they will be super motivated to win their first Gold Medal in the competition since 2011.
- Despite only possessing two players that play in the NHL on their roster, the Finns have showed no signs of being overawed in this tournament and they will relish the opportunity to cause another upset against the fancied Canadians.
- They can take heart from the fact that they are the only team to have beaten Canada already in the tournament and the win over Russia especially will serve as a great confidence boost coming into this match.
THE PREDICTION
Canada are favourites coming into this Gold Medal game but the Finns cannot be underestimated after they stunned Russia on Saturday and are the only team to have beaten Canada so far in the tournament. They beat Canada in their opening match by a 3-1 scoreline but that served to spark a reaction from the North Americans who have won every single match since that loss. They are looking much better and they were particularly impressive in the 5-1 semi-final win over the Czechs so this could be a different match from that opening game. Finland’s matches against the more elite teams have been tight, tense and cagey, and there is every chance this one follows suit with few goals. Canada may just have enough to edge this but it seems unlikely there will be anything more than a goal to separate them in what should be a classic final.
