Hannes Bjorninen, Rasmus Rissanen and Pekka Jormakka scored third-period goals to propel Finland to a surprisingly tight 3-1 win over Denmark. However, the Finns are not yet out of contention for the final Group A quarter-final spot.
Finland now has 10 points to Austria’s seven. On Tuesday, the final day of the group stage, if Austria beat Great Britain in regulation, the Finns will need at least a point against Switzerland to advance to the quarter-finals. (The Austrians have the head-to-head advantage over Finland due to their wild 3-2 comeback win.)
Looking ahead to the clash with Switzerland, Finland captain Mikael Granlund said: “They’re a great team. They’ve got world-class players there. So it’s going to be a really big challenge for us. You just love playing these games, we’re real hockey games. everyone excited about it.”
Alexander True scored a late goal for Denmark, who were playing their final game at these Worlds.
“I thought we played a good game today,” said Danish forward Frederik Stom. “Late in the game, we were still close. We had a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, they scored a few goals and at least one was our fault. They have a lot of quality. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough today.”
Although Denmark finish second last in the group, they are better than last. The 2025 Worlds will be jointly hosted by Denmark (Herning) and Sweden (Stockholm), meaning coach Mikael Gath’s side could not be relegated this year under any circumstances.
For much of this game, the Finns worked hard but looked scrappy, while the Danes emptied the tank. The result, coming late in the qualifying round, underscores concerns about Finland’s attacking potential in its final run under legendary coach Jukka Jalonen.
“I think we were a bit timid at the beginning,” said Finland’s Olli Maatta. “Obviously, it’s a big game for us. But as the game went on, I think we relaxed a little bit and started playing our game a little better. Our execution got better.”
With little chance of advancing to a quarterfinal, the Danes dressed 19 skaters and scratched key veterans.
Danish captain Jesper Jensen Abo missed his third straight game, while fellow veteran blueliner Oliver Lauridsen also sat out. Forward Joachim Blichfeld, tied for second on the team in scoring ahead of Finland (five points), also did not play. Top goaltender Frederik Dichow did not dress as Mathias Seldrup made his first Worlds start after playing in the third period of an 8-0 loss to Switzerland and allowing three goals.
Finnish goalkeeper Emil Larmi got the win as his team beat Denmark 35-22.
In a scoreless first period, the Storm gave Denmark their first good chance of the game, gobbling up a giveaway in the Finnish defensive zone and attempting a deck backhand that Laramie blocked with a glove throw. Sheldrup appeared to have called when he said no to Jesse Puljujarvi’s solo outing near the middle of the first. Notably, the Finns also squandered a 5-on-3 advantage lasting 41 seconds.
The Finns nearly caught fire when Christian Wejse appeared to score on a power-play one-timer at 8:36 of the second period. However, the goal was disallowed as acting Denmark captain Patrick Russell was in the crease and interfered with Larmy.
Granlund had a good chance at the goal during a man advantage in the final period, but he blasted the puck over the crossbar. Suomi thought they finally had the lead in the final minute of the middle frame when Granlund stuck in the net and Iiro Pakarinen tapped in the rebound. But officials ruled that Granlund had interfered with Seldrup and again there was no goal.
Finally, Bjorninen broke the tie at 3:26 of the third. Jesper Mattila’s point shot bounced off the backboards to Bjorninen on the open side of the net and the SHL veteran tapped it in.
After the goal, Risanen made it 2-0 just 1:37 later. The Orebro HK rearguard sealed the wall when Storm tried to clear the puck forward and then jumped into the faceoff circle to beat Seldrup with a quick wrister.
Helpless the Danes continued to press. An Oscar Moelgaard shot was deflected by True at 18:16 with Seldrup pulling the extra striker. However, at 19:07, Jormakka sealed the deal with an empty netter.
Storm assessed Denmark’s tournament overall: “We started well, but then there were too many ups and downs. He didn’t score enough in some of the games and the defense in some places wasn’t good enough.”
But, he added, his team is already looking forward to 2025: “The atmosphere last time we had the World Championships in Herning was incredible. So I can’t wait to see that atmosphere again with a big arena full of Denmark shirts.”