<p>With the absence of a Canada vs. United States matchup in the World Juniors this year, the Finland vs. Sweden matchup is probably as good as it gets for top flight hockey rivalries this tournament. With that in mind it&#8217;s hardly surprising to see an absence of run and gun hockey from either Niemela or Hirvonen.</p>
<p>The approach worked and Finland hung on for the 1-0 win over Sweden and they are off to the gold medal game against Canada.</p>
<h2><strong>The First Period</strong></h2>
<p>To say the first period between Finland and Sweden was cautious is an understatement. Neither team wants to give the other anything and through a couple of power play chances, Finland had the opportunity to play a slightly more aggressive game. Neither Niemela or Hirvonen had the opportunity to establish much on the power play.</p>
<p><strong>Hirvonen: </strong>Roni was playing more conservatively than we&#8217;ve seen him play so far. He was defensively responsible, and put pressure on a Swedish shooter during an odd man rush, but also at times was part of a Finnish group that struggled to exit their zone.</p>
<p><strong>Niemela: </strong>Topi put on a low key positive showing in the first. It&#8217;s great to see him skating the puck out of trouble, and the Finns were often reliant on him for both setting up zone exits and zone entries. Niemela had a solid poke check late in the first to break up a Swedish opportunity, but also had one tough pinch in the offensive zone that led to him being late to get back to his zone during a Swedish chance on goal.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2><strong>The Second Period</strong></h2>
<p>The second period saw Finland pull ahead on the powerplay. Niemela led the breakout that produced the goal, picking up a secondary assist in the process</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 POWER PLAY GOAL! Kasper Puutio pushes past the Swedes to get <a href="https://twitter.com/leijonat?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@leijonat</a> up 1-0!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SWEFIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SWEFIN</a> <a href="https://t.co/jT3ymaMf3A">pic.twitter.com/jT3ymaMf3A</a></p>
<p>&mdash; IIHF (@IIHFHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1560796885656473605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><strong>Hirvonen: </strong>For the most part Hirvonen is showcasing his defensive acumen this game, as he has broken up a rush attempt for Sweden, aggressively chased the puck around the Finnish zone, and in his nine seconds of killing a 5 on 3 penalty, Hirvonen swiftly cleared the puck out of the zone before getting off the ice.</p>
<p>Hirvonen also had a nice forechecking moment around the 15 minute mark of the period, leading to him twice putting the puck to the front of the net, but without a Finnish player there to capitalize.</p>
<p><strong>Niemela: </strong>Besides the assist, Niemela has been showcasing his skating. He had a nice pivot earlier the period to create some space to safely move the puck from the defensive zone, and used his speed to win an important race for a loose puck.</p>
<p>Niemela had a nice slap pass prior to his powerplay assist, and it would be fun to see him tee it up from the point more often.</p>
<h2><strong>The Third Period</strong></h2>
<p>There really isn&#8217;t a whole lot to add about the third period. Finland was very much into protecting their lead, and both Hirvonen and Niemela were a part of that. That&#8217;s why we&#8217;ll see them in the gold medal game against Canada.</p>
<h2><strong>Hirvonen named one of the top three Finnish players</strong></h2>
<p>While I&#8217;d say Niemela had the stronger game of the two Leafs prospects tonight, Hirvonen has had a consistently strong tournament and will go home with a fancy new watch as a result of his strong performance so far. We&#8217;ll see how Finland does in their second matchup against Canada, but the Leafs prospects are guaranteed medals tomorrow night.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hirvonen picks up a fancy new watch for his play in the tournament <a href="https://t.co/0Ch4pM6bBW">pic.twitter.com/0Ch4pM6bBW</a></p>
<p>&mdash; The Leafs Nation (@TLNdc) <a href="https://twitter.com/TLNdc/status/1560817063983083520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><strong>More from <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">The Leafs Nation</a></strong></p>
<ul>
<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/08/19/the-2022-leafs-nation-reader-poll/" rel="v:url follow" data-wpel-link="internal">The 2022 Leafs Nation Readers Poll</a></p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/08/16/why-it-could-be-different-this-time-between-the-maple-leafs-and-denis-malgin/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Why it could be different this time between the Maple Leafs and Denis Malgin</a> by Nick Barden</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/08/15/roni-hirvonen-and-topi-niemela-faced-an-uphill-battle-against-canada/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Roni Hirvonen and Topi Niemela faced an uphill battle against Canada</a> by Jon Steitzer</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://join.pointsbet.ca/april-launch-generic/?utm_source=Unbounce_Nation_Network_Display&amp;utm_medium=Generic_First_Bet&amp;utm_campaign=Free_Bet_25_Bet_Insurance_560&amp;utm_term=Unbounce&amp;utm_content=Nation_Network_Display&amp;promo=NHLGNFBPND" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external"><strong>POINTSBET IS LIVE IN ONTARIO</strong></a></h2>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-80254 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src="https://i2.wp.com/theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/CC21B948-585B-4DCF-8481-7E1F36149998.jpeg?resize=1424%2C801&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="894" height="503" data-lazy-loaded="1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/CC21B948-585B-4DCF-8481-7E1F36149998.jpeg?w=1921&amp;ssl=1 1921w, https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/CC21B948-585B-4DCF-8481-7E1F36149998.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/CC21B948-585B-4DCF-8481-7E1F36149998.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/CC21B948-585B-4DCF-8481-7E1F36149998.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/CC21B948-585B-4DCF-8481-7E1F36149998.jpeg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 894px) 100vw, 894px" /></p>
<p>PointsBet is live in Ontario. <a href="https://join.pointsbet.ca/april-launch-generic/?utm_source=Unbounce_Nation_Network_Display&amp;utm_medium=Generic_First_Bet&amp;utm_campaign=Free_Bet_25_Bet_Insurance_560&amp;utm_term=Unbounce&amp;utm_content=Nation_Network_Display&amp;promo=NHLGNFBPND" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Get started here</a>.</p>


With the absence of a Canada vs. United States matchup in the World Juniors this year, the Finland vs. Sweden matchup is probably as good as it gets for top flight hockey rivalries this tournament. With that in mind it's hardly surprising to see an absence of run and gun hockey from either Niemela or Hirvonen.

The approach worked and Finland hung on for the 1-0 win over Sweden and they are off to the gold medal game against Canada.
<h2><strong>The First Period</strong></h2>
To say the first period between Finland and Sweden was cautious is an understatement. Neither team wants to give the other anything and through a couple of power play chances, Finland had the opportunity to play a slightly more aggressive game. Neither Niemela or Hirvonen had the opportunity to establish much on the power play.

<strong>Hirvonen: </strong>Roni was playing more conservatively than we've seen him play so far. He was defensively responsible, and put pressure on a Swedish shooter during an odd man rush, but also at times was part of a Finnish group that struggled to exit their zone.

<strong>Niemela: </strong>Topi put on a low key positive showing in the first. It's great to see him skating the puck out of trouble, and the Finns were often reliant on him for both setting up zone exits and zone entries. Niemela had a solid poke check late in the first to break up a Swedish opportunity, but also had one tough pinch in the offensive zone that led to him being late to get back to his zone during a Swedish chance on goal.

&nbsp;
<h2><strong>The Second Period</strong></h2>
The second period saw Finland pull ahead on the powerplay. Niemela led the breakout that produced the goal, picking up a secondary assist in the process

https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1560796885656473605

<strong>Hirvonen: </strong>For the most part Hirvonen is showcasing his defensive acumen this game, as he has broken up a rush attempt for Sweden, aggressively chased the puck around the Finnish zone, and in his nine seconds of killing a 5 on 3 penalty, Hirvonen swiftly cleared the puck out of the zone before getting off the ice.

Hirvonen also had a nice forechecking moment around the 15 minute mark of the period, leading to him twice putting the puck to the front of the net, but without a Finnish player there to capitalize.

<strong>Niemela: </strong>Besides the assist, Niemela has been showcasing his skating. He had a nice pivot earlier the period to create some space to safely move the puck from the defensive zone, and used his speed to win an important race for a loose puck.

Niemela had a nice slap pass prior to his powerplay assist, and it would be fun to see him tee it up from the point more often.
<h2><strong>The Third Period</strong></h2>
There really isn't a whole lot to add about the third period. Finland was very much into protecting their lead, and both Hirvonen and Niemela were a part of that. That's why we'll see them in the gold medal game against Canada.
<h2><strong>Hirvonen named one of the top three Finnish players</strong></h2>
While I'd say Niemela had the stronger game of the two Leafs prospects tonight, Hirvonen has had a consistently strong tournament and will go home with a fancy new watch as a result of his strong performance so far. We'll see how Finland does in their second matchup against Canada, but the Leafs prospects are guaranteed medals tomorrow night.

https://twitter.com/TLNdc/status/1560817063983083520

<strong>More from <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">The Leafs Nation</a></strong>
<ul>
 	<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/08/19/the-2022-leafs-nation-reader-poll/" rel="v:url follow" data-wpel-link="internal">The 2022 Leafs Nation Readers Poll</a></p>
</li>
 	<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/08/16/why-it-could-be-different-this-time-between-the-maple-leafs-and-denis-malgin/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Why it could be different this time between the Maple Leafs and Denis Malgin</a> by Nick Barden</p>
</li>
 	<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/08/15/roni-hirvonen-and-topi-niemela-faced-an-uphill-battle-against-canada/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Roni Hirvonen and Topi Niemela faced an uphill battle against Canada</a> by Jon Steitzer</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://join.pointsbet.ca/april-launch-generic/?utm_source=Unbounce_Nation_Network_Display&amp;utm_medium=Generic_First_Bet&amp;utm_campaign=Free_Bet_25_Bet_Insurance_560&amp;utm_term=Unbounce&amp;utm_content=Nation_Network_Display&amp;promo=NHLGNFBPND" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external"><strong>POINTSBET IS LIVE IN ONTARIO</strong></a></h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-80254 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src="https://i2.wp.com/theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/04/CC21B948-585B-4DCF-8481-7E1F36149998.jpeg?resize=1424%2C801&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="894" height="503" data-lazy-loaded="1" />

PointsBet is live in Ontario. <a href="https://join.pointsbet.ca/april-launch-generic/?utm_source=Unbounce_Nation_Network_Display&amp;utm_medium=Generic_First_Bet&amp;utm_campaign=Free_Bet_25_Bet_Insurance_560&amp;utm_term=Unbounce&amp;utm_content=Nation_Network_Display&amp;promo=NHLGNFBPND" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Get started here</a>.

Hirvonen and Niemela onto the gold medal game against Canada

Recent articles from Jon Steitzer

Breaking News