2019 IIHF World Junior Championship

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2019 IIHF World Junior Championship
Game #23
Quarter Final
Final (OT)
January 2, 2019 3:30 pm PST
Rogers Arena
Vancouver, B.C.

Scoring

Teams
1st
2nd
3rd
OT
F
Teams
1
2
3
OT
F
0
0
1
1
2
0
1
0
0
1

Shots on Goal

1st
2nd
3rd
OT
Final
1
2
3
OT
F
11
12
8
3
34
7
10
7
3
27

Statistics

PP
PIM
0 / 2
6
0 / 3
4

Game Story

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.

Play by Play

Team
Description
Time
1st Period
PENALTY
Penalty: Otto Latvala
High-Sticking (2:00)
01:55
PENALTY
Penalty: Aleksi Heponiemi
Closing Hand on Puck (2:00)
07:49
PENALTY
Penalty: Noah Dobson
Tripping (2:00)
11:29
2nd Period
GOAL
Goal: Ian Mitchell

Assists: Barrett Hayton, Morgan Frost
01:30
PENALTY
Penalty: Jared McIsaac
Hooking (2:00)
03:05
PENALTY
Penalty: Eeli Tolvanen
Slashing (2:00)
09:53
3rd Period
GOALTENDER CHANGE
Goaltender Change: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

18:08
GOAL
Goal: Aleksi Heponiemi

Assists: Eeli Tolvanen, Urho Vaakanainen
19:14
Overtime
GOAL
Goal: Toni Utunen

Assists: Aarne Talvitie, Aleksi Heponiemi
05:17

Goaltender Leaders

Name Team Mins Shots Saves GA SV%
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen FIN 64 26 25 1 0.962
Michael DiPietro CAN 65 34 32 2 0.941

Game Leaders

Goals 1 - Assists 1 - Points 2
G 1 - A 1 - PTS 2
Goals 1 - Assists 0 - Points 1
G 1 - A 0 - PTS 1
Goals 1 - Assists 0 - Points 1
G 1 - A 0 - PTS 1
Goals 0 - Assists 1 - Points 1
G 0 - A 1 - PTS 1
Goals 0 - Assists 1 - Points 1
G 0 - A 1 - PTS 1
Goals 0 - Assists 1 - Points 1
G 0 - A 1 - PTS 1

Previous Games

3 - 2 W v United StatesUSA
Jan 5, 2019
1 - 2 L v FinlandFIN
Jan 2, 2019
6 - 1 W @ SwitzerlandSUI
Jan 4, 2019
1 - 2 L v RussiaRUS
Dec 31, 2018
2 - 1 W @ CanadaCAN
Jan 2, 2019
5 - 1 W @ Czech RepublicCZE
Dec 29, 2018
Photos
Videos
2024-25 NWT: CAN 3 – USA 1 (Game 5)
Gardiner scored the GWG with 6:44 left, giving Canada the series win.
2024-25 NWT: USA 2 – CAN 1 SO (Game 4)
Turnbull tied it late, but Canada fell to the U.S. in a shootout.
2025 U18WWC: CAN 3 – USA 0 (Gold Medal)
Grenier made 14 saves to backstop Canada to its eighth U18 gold medal.
2025 U18WWC: CAN 4 – CZE 2 (Semifinal)
Zablocki and Tiller had 1G 1A apiece to send Canada to play for gold.
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