How much the final meant to the Finns – here is the opportunity to become world champion in the same year as the triumphant Olympics, and win a home tournament in front of their compatriots. And personally for Valtteri Filppula, the match is historic – the forward could become the first Finn to submit to the triple golden club.

But the current world champions, the Canadians, were motivated before the main match of the tournament – the Maple Leaves did their best to defend the title and ruin someone else’s holiday. And at the same time bypass Russia (including the USSR and the CIS) in terms of the number of victories at the world championships, having won the 28th gold in a row.

In the final, the North Americans had to play not only against the Finns, but also against the judges – the controversial removal almost killed the Maple in regular time.

Immediately after the opening face-off, the Canadians went on the attack hoping to score first. Being in the role of catching up against the pragmatic Finns is not a pleasant prospect. But the attacking impulse brought the “maple leaves” only an advantage in throws. The Finns, on the other hand, did not betray themselves and played as the second number – they met the opponent already in the middle zone, and in the attack they did not risk it again. Gradually, the Suomi team slowed down the pace of the match, and in the second half of the period, the audience watched equal hockey.

The fans, on the other hand, lacked sharp moments and, of course, goals from the teams. On the other hand, the judges responsible for the match protocol felt great – there was no need to make changes to the column of abandoned goals or removals, but you could just watch hockey. At the beginning of the second period, the referee’s table still had to work – Finnish national team defender Niklas Freeman was sent off.

Fans of the Suomi team remained calm – the Finns have never conceded in the minority in this tournament. The final match is always taken out of brackets, and the statistics do not work here. So the “maple” after 35 seconds were able to realize the majority – Matt Barzal gave an ideal transverse pass to Dylan Cozens, who brought the Canadians forward with a powerful one-touch throw.

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After the missed puck, the Finns really got into the game and stormed the opponent’s goal. The Canadians were saved from the goal by Chris Dredger, who made some cool saves. However, the activity of the Finns was not in vain – in the middle of the period, the “maple leaves” earned the first removal in the game. The Suomi team failed to take advantage of the opponent’s indiscipline. And after a couple of minutes, the Canadians were again playing in the majority and were even close to realize it again.

Barzal, when playing in unequal lineups, broke his stick, this did not prevent him from staying in the game – the Canadian was handed a new tool from the bench. After the new clothes, the striker launched an attack that almost ended in a goal, but the Finnish player Atte Ohtamaa closed the empty net with himself. Canadians did not realize this majority, but still continued to own the initiative. Everything changed the first five minutes of the final period, which became a real nightmare for the Maple.

Already at the start of the third 20-minute period, the Canadians received two stupid removals at once – one in the middle zone, and the other in the attack. Canada still fought back and survived the game “5 on 3”, but before the fifth field appeared on the ice, the North Americans again received a penalty. Canadian Mike Sillinger knocked out Miro Heiskanen’s stick, and the Finn hit himself in the face with it. The judges did not carefully understand the situation and immediately sent Sillinger to the penalty box.

This time the Finns managed to realize the majority of “5 on 3” – Heiskanen from the blue line threw it into the boards, and the puck bounced onto the stick of Mikael Granlund, who threw it into an empty net. Dredger still tried to react and moved to the bar in a split, but did not have time to repel the throw, and was injured due to a sharp change in direction.

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Dredger immediately went to the locker room, replaced by Matt Tomkins, who has not yet played in this tournament. The Finns immediately began to load the cold goalkeeper with work, and this brought results – at first, Granlund flashed the near nine with a powerful throw.

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And then Yoel Armia, after winning a throw-in with a wrist throw, upset the debuting goalkeeper again.

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The Canadians have already shown character in the tournament, so the Maple fans did not lose hope. The North Americans did not disappoint – they removed the goalkeeper and, two minutes before the end of the final period, Zach Whitecloud reduced the gap in the score. Before the fans of the Canadian team had time to rejoice, the chief referee of the match announced that the goal was not counted. True, he immediately apologized for the reservation and went to watch the replay of the abandoned puck, and after that he still counted it.

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And then the Canadians, as in the quarterfinals, demonstrated hockey magic. The “Maple” again removed the keeper and staged the last assault on the gate – Max Comtois, after the transfer of Barzal, equalized the score and forced the Canadian spectators to give a standing ovation.

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It was too early to call Comtua a national hero. The Canadians showed character, restored justice for a controversial removal, but overtime was ahead.

In extra time, the teams rushed around the field as if there were no three periods. Opponents exchanged accurate attacks. It seemed that this could go on for a long time, but the Canadians again received a removal. The Suomi team could not fail to take advantage of such a gift, and Sakari Manninen scored the golden puck.

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The Canadians also restored justice for the controversial removal, but in overtime they were in the minority in the case. There can be no claims to the judges here. As a result, indiscipline ruined the Maple Team, and the Finns scored a golden double.