Team Finland edged out Team USA 3-2 to begin Day 3 of the World Junior Summer Showcase after a practice day on Tuesday.
Although Tuesday morning’s official announcement for USA’s merged roster never came, we did see the players who are now left take the ice today. Given that this showcase is a precursor to the World Junior tournament, making this merged roster goes a long way to making the official 25-man roster.
Coming off a 4-1 win over USA White and a 5-1 loss to USA Blue, today felt like the rubber match between Finland and USA.
After a back-and-forth start to the game, Vilho Vanhatalo scored on the breakaway after a missed breakaway attempt by Ethan Wyttenbach, putting Finland on the board.
From that goal onward, the USA was in complete control through the rest of the first period. Ethan Wyttenbach scored on a long-distance shot through traffic to tie the game with 4:54 left in the period.
The second period was very similar to the end of the first, with the US dominating the pace of play and Finland counterattacking when the opportunity presented itself.
Mikey Berchild jammed one home on the power play early into the second period, but the play was reviewed and later overturned due to the US entering the zone offside.
Finland was on their back foot most of the period, but a long-distance shot from Jesse Parssinen kicked out a rebound directly onto the stick of Ilari Kapanen, who shot it in, giving Finland the 2-1 lead.
The bad rebound luck continued for the US with Eetu Orpana finding the loose puck off a Chase Reid blocked shot, making a quick cutback move, and firing it past Harrison Boettiger.
The third period was much more competitive, with different exchanges of both teams dominating the pace of play and their looks. With Finland on the power play, the puck got rimmed around the boards, and Sammy Nelson outskated the Finnish backchecker to get to the puck first, shooting it past Patrik Kerkola to bring the game within a goal.
Although the US pushed Finland to the brink, they could not beat Kerkola in the end, and Finland took home the victory 3-2.
Team USA will play Sweden tomorrow at 3 p.m. EDT, while Finland will take on Canada at 7 p.m. EDT/ 2 a.m. EEST
Standouts:
F Ethan Wyttenbach (USA | Calgary Flames)
Team USA’s entire top line with Wyttenbach, Cullen and Berchild was incredible, but the standout performance again today was Wyttenbach, who continued as the offensive catalyst for Team USA. Scoring a goal and generating numerous high-quality chances throughout the game, it felt like a different team whenever Wyttenbach and his line jumped over the boards.
F Carter Sanderson (USA | Pittsburgh Penguins)
After scoring a hat trick in his opening game and adding another goal in his second, Sanderson was one of the most deserving players to make this US merged team, and today he rewarded the decision with another strong game. Creating opportunities with his speed and size, he had a number of high-quality looks while taking care of his responsibilities in his own end.
F Sammy Nelson (USA | 2027 Draft Eligible)
Turning out to be Team USA’s MVP of the game, Nelson put together another strong performance for the US squad, picking up a shorthanded goal in the process. The expected top 5 pick at the 2027 NHL draft will look to continue his strong showcase ahead of the World Junior tournament that could propel him into the top 3.
G Patrik Kerkola (FIN | 2027 Draft Eligible)
Strong goaltending will, like always, play a major factor in Team Finland’s success when they embark upon Edmonton and Red Deer. Today we saw a solid all-around performance from Kerkola, who strung together some key saves late in the game to give Finland the victory. If Kerkola can continue to play the way he did at the end of this game, the Finns might just be able to pull off the miracle and return to gold for the first time since 2019.
F Eetu Orpana (FIN | 2027 Draft Eligible)
It was another strong game from Orpana tonight on both ends of the ice. On the offensive side, he was all around it, picking up the eventual game-winning goal in the process. On the defensive side, he was lights out, in one instance chasing down Carter Sanderson back the full length of the ice to deny the American the chance.