Finland was expected to compete for a medal at this year's 2013 World Junior Championships, but the team imploded after a dominating start against Latvia.
In the first match of the tournament, the Finnish jumped out to a 5-1 win over Latvia, but the tournament was a disaster afterward. The Finnish squad lost a surprising match against the Czech Republic and with a chance to pick up momentum they were pushed to overtime against a strong Swiss side. In need of a major match against Sweden, the Finnish executed their worst defensive display of the tournament.
The Swedes ran out to a 3-0 lead in the first before Finland's Joel Armia scored to end the period down 3-1. Rasmus Ristolainen added another goal at the 1:26 mark of the second to bring Finland within one and Armia scored just two minutes later to tie up the score for Finland. However, Sweden struck twice in 44 seconds to regain a two goal advantage. Despite a Ville Jarvelainen goal in the third for Finland, the Swedes added another two to put the game out of reach and end Finland's hopes of a knockout round berth. With Switzerland picking up a point against the Czech Republic earlier in the day, Finland was eliminated.
Now they take on Germany in the first round of the relegation group. The Germans played dreadfully throughout their first three matches of the tournament and were demolished 9-3 by the Canadians, 8-0 by the Americans, and 7-0 by the Russians. In their final match against Slovakia they managed to lose in overtime by the score of 2-1 and may have gained some confidence in this relegation round.
Prediction: Finland was supposed to be a contender for a medal and should win every single game in this group. 6-0 Finland.
Start Time: 6 AM EST
TV: TSN
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