Finland Becomes Last Semifinalist after 6-1 Win against Germany – 07.12.2018

So far, the Germans have never scored more than two goals in a single match against Finland. They wanted to break this tradition tonight, surprise their opponents and claim the spot in the semifinals. But the Finns were still too good and deservedly secured their spot among the top four teams after winning 6-1.

It didn’t take long before we saw the first goal of the match – just 48 seconds. Sami Johansson had a bit of time and free space in the centre, which was just enough for him to send an accurate shot that found the back of the net. Five minutes later the Finnish captain Nico Salo found himself unmarked at the same spot and doubled the lead. The Germans also showed some skills and especially late in the period they created several good opportunities.

With 2:42 on the clock in the second period, Peter Kotilainen increased the Finnish lead to 3-0 with a great long-range shot and halfway through the period he scored his second goal of the night from a similar situation. The first and only German scoring success in the match came two and a half minutes before the end of the second period. Julian Nihlén’s shot flew just over Lassi Toriseva’s shoulder.

The Finns were three goals ahead at the start of the last period, but after four minutes Sami Johansson scored his second goal to make it 5-1. There were no doubts about the winner anymore and the last change in the score came only forty seconds before the end after Jani Kukkola used his strength in front of the German crease. His goal set the final score at 6-1 and Finland comfortably advanced to the semifinals, joining the already qualified Switzerland, Czech Republic and Sweden.