Like Switzerland, the Finnish stunned the world when they managed to steal the top spot in Group H. For their hard work, they get a chance to take on Slovakia in the quarterfinals of the IIHF World Championships.
The two sides met on May 4 in a 2-0 win for Finland. The team got goals from Petri Kontiola and Juhamatti Aaltonen. Goalie Annti Raanta made 36 saves in the game to earn the shutout.
Finland previously opened the tournament with a 4-3 overtime win against Germany on May 3. On May 6, the Finnish took down France 3-1, but two days later, the team was defeated 4-1 against the United States. Fortunately Finland bounced back with a 3-2 win against Russia and 7-2 blowout victory against Austria. The squad finished the group stage with a 3-2 overtime win against Latvia to clinch the top spot in the group.
Raanta has played 241 minutes and has conceded only seven goals. He holds a 1.79 goals against average and has stopped 93.97 percent of the shots he has faced.
Slovakia opened the tournament with a 6-2 demolition of France. After losing to Finland, Slovakia responded with a 3-2 win against Germany; possibly the most important victory in the team's campaign. A 5-3 loss to Latvia was followed by a 2-1 loss to Austria and another against Russia. With elimination looming, the team responded with a tremendous 4-1 win over the Americans in the final group match. Slovakia finished with 10 points, just one more than Germany and three more than Latvia and France.
Slovakia scored 18 goals and allowed 17; Finland scored 23 and conceded 14.
Prediction: Finland wins 5-1.
Start Time: 5 AM EST
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