Hlinka Gretzky Cup Recap: Finland 3, Czechia 1

RED DEER, Alta. – Eemil Vinni made 21 saves to earn Player of the Game and lift Finland to 3-1 win over Czechia in the bronze medal game Saturday afternoon at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

The Finns opened the scoring late in the first period as top prospect Aron Kiviharju scored his first of the tournament, beating Czechia’s Michael Hrabal to the blocker side from the right face-off dot. Kiviharju finished the tournament with six points (1-5—6).

But Czechia pushed back to tie the game with 25 seconds left in the period as Eduard Sale beat Vinni past the glove from the top of the slot to notch his fourth goal and sixth point of the tournament.

At 13:29 in the second period, Arrtu Alasiurua tapped home a puck that sat between the feet of a Czech defender off a nice play from Kasper Halttunen to give Finland a 2-1 lead.

Hrabal finished with another strong performance. The six-foot-six Czech goaltender made 22 saves and ended the tournament with a .917 save percentage across four starts. The Finns wrapped up the bronze medal with a shutdown third period, adding an empty-net goal by Jesse Kiiskinen to cap the scoring.

The medal is the first for Finland since 2012 when it claimed silver.