Game Report 2255		IIHF World Junior Championship
PLAYED AT: Rogers Arena Date: Jan 2, 2019 GAME NOTES: CANADA EDGED IN OT, ELIMINATED IN QUARTER-FINALS AT WJC JASON LA ROSE VANCOUVER, B.C. – Michael DiPietro (Amherstburg, Ont./Ottawa, OHL) was absolutely spectacular in a 32-save performance, but Canada’s National Junior Team saw its run at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship end Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime loss to Finland in the quarter-finals. Ian Mitchell (Calahoo, Alta./University of Denver, NCHC) scored the lone goal for the Canadians, who were less than a minute away from advancing before the Finns banked in the game-tying goal. Finnish goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen went to the bench with time ticking away, and the Finns caught a break when Eeli Tolvanen blindly threw the puck off the skate of Aleksi Heponiemi and under the arm of DiPietro to make it 1-1 with 46.4 seconds to go. “It’s a game of inches,” Mitchell said. “One little bounce or turn of events can put you out of the tournament.” Canada had a pair of glorious chances to win the game in overtime. Evan Bouchard (Oakville, Ont./London, OHL) created the first opportunity when he was hooked on a breakaway, but Maxime Comtois (Longueuil, Que./Drummondville, QMJHL) was turned away by Luukkonen on the ensuing penalty shot. Just minutes later, Noah Dobson (Summerside, P.E.I./Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL) had his stick shatter on a one-timer with a yawning Finnish goal in front of him. The Finns turned the puck back up the ice, and a shot from Toni Utunen deflected off a Canadian stick and over the shoulder of DiPietro for the game-winner. “We played a heck of a hockey game tonight,” said Canadian head coach Tim Hunter. “We are proud of how far [the players] have come, and how much they came together, and how hard they competed. Anybody watching the game would have thought it was one hell of a hockey game.” It’s the second time in four years the Canadians have been knocked out by Finland in the quarter-finals. DiPietro and Luukkonen combined for 18 saves in a scoreless first period, but it took Mitchell just 90 seconds to open the scoring in the second; a loose puck bounced onto the stick of the defenceman, who rifled a wrist shot upstairs past the glove of Luukkonen. That would be it for scoring until the final minute, thanks in large part to DiPietro, a Vancouver Canucks draft pick who had the 17,047 at Rogers Arena chanting his name late in the second period. “It has been a special time here,” he said of playing in Vancouver. “But I came here with gold in mind, and not getting what you wanted is a tough pill to swallow. The toughest part is going to be saying goodbye to the guys; this has been about team, not about me. It was cool to hear, but not the outcome we wanted.” Following the game, DiPietro, Comtois and Cody Glass (Winnipeg, Man./Portland, WHL) were named Canada’s top three players of the tournament, as selected by the coaches. Visiting Team: Finland Home Team: Canada
FINLAND LINEUP Pos No.   Name G 1   Luukkonen, Ukko-Pekka G 31   Lindberg, Filip   2   Laaksonen, Oskari   3   Utunen, Toni   7   Vaakanainen, Urho   10   Heponiemi, Aleksi   12   Vainionpaa, Samuli   13   Puustinen, Valtteri   15   Jokiharju, Henri   18   Engberg, Teemu   19   Kupari, Rasmus   20   Tolvanen, Eeli   21   Latvala, Otto   22   Virtanen, Santeri   23   Nyman, Linus   24   Kakko, Kaapo   25   Talvitie, Aarne   27   Ylonen, Jesse   28   Moilanen, Sami   29   Lundell, Anton   34   Heinola, Ville   36   Honka, Anttoni	FINLAND PENALTIES Per. No.  Min  Offence Off PP PS Start On 1st 21  2:00  High-Sticking 1:55 1   1:55 1st 10  2:00  Closing Hand on Puck 7:49 1   7:49 2nd 20  2:00  Slashing 9:53 1   9:53	CANADA LINEUP Pos No.   Name G 1   DiPietro, Michael G 31   Scott, Ian   2   Bouchard, Evan   3   Brook, Josh   4   McIsaac, Jared   5   Mitchell, Ian   6   Dobson, Noah   8   Glass, Cody   9   Veleno, Joe   11   Anderson-Dolan, Jaret   14   Comtois, Maxime   15   Bowers, Shane   16   Entwistle, MacKenzie   17   Suzuki, Nick   18   Phillips, Markus   20   Leason, Brett   21   Tippett, Owen   22   Lafreniere, Alexis   23   Studnicka, Jack   24   Smith, Ty   26   Frost, Morgan   27   Hayton, Barrett	CANADA PENALTIES Per. No.  Min  Offence Off PP PS Start On 1st 6  2:00  Tripping 11:29 1   11:29 2nd 4  2:00  Hooking 3:05 1   3:05

FINLAND Goals FINLAND PLAYERS (plus) CANADA PLAYERS (minus) Per. Time    G-As1-As2     3rd 19:14   10-20-7                         1st OT 5:17   3-25-10

CANADA Goals CANADA PLAYERS (plus) FINLAND PLAYERS (minus) Per. Time    G-As1-As2     2nd 1:30   5-27-26

POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITIES FINLAND 0 / 2 CANADA 0 / 3 PENALTY SUMMARY FINLAND 6 min / 3 inf CANADA 4 min / 2 inf POINT SUMMARY FINLAND 2 G + 4 A = 6 Pts CANADA 1 G + 2 A = 3 Pts

SCORING 1 2 3 OT1 Total FINLAND 0 0 1 1 2 CANADA 0 1 0 0 1 GOALTENDER/SAVES (Time) 1 2 3 OT1 Tot. On Off FIN - Luukkonen (57:35) (W) 7 9 7 0 23 /0:00 3rd/17:35 FIN - Luukkonen (7:09) (W) 0 0 0 2 2 /18:08 1st OT/5:17 CAN - DiPietro (65:17) (OTL) 11 12 7 2 32 /0:00 1st OT/5:17 Stars of the Game TIME OF GAME:   -  Start:   -  End:   -  Attendance:

OFFICIALS Referee: Referee: Linesmen: Linesmen: CERTIFIED CORRECT   This report has been checked and verified against the Official IIHF World Junior Championship Game Report.

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