05/31/26 05:27:00
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05/31 17:25 CDT Finland beats Switzerland 1-0 in overtime to win men's ice
hockey world championship
Finland beats Switzerland 1-0 in overtime to win men's ice hockey world
championship
ZURICH (AP) --- Finland won the ice hockey world championship for the fifth
time on Sunday, beating Switzerland 1-0 in overtime.
The Buffalo Sabres' Konsta Helenius scored the gold-winning goal 10:42 into
overtime. The 20-year-old Helenius netted from the right circle, beating
Switzerland goaltender Leonardo Genoni with his team's 28th shot on goal.
Finland netminder Justus Annunen shut out Switzerland with 22 saves.
Finland also won in 1995, 2011, 2019 and 2022.
It's the first medal for Finland since its previous title four years ago.
Switzerland wasted a two-minute, 5-on-3 advantage that started six seconds
before the end of the opening period.
The final was a rematch of the two teams from their last group stage game,
which the Swiss won 4-2.
That was the only loss for the Finns, who finished second in their preliminary
group behind the Swiss. They went on to eliminate the Czechs 4-1 in the
quarterfinals and upset tournament favorite Canada 4-2 in the semifinals.
Finland was led by captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed the entirety of the
Florida Panthers' season because of a major knee injury suffered 20 minutes
into his first practice of training camp. The tournament was his first action
in competitive games since the Panthers won their second consecutive Stanley
Cup last June.
Barkov sparked the Finns with three goals and eight assists from 10 games at
the worlds.
Swiss disappointment
After finishing runner-up in the previous two years, host Switzerland hoped for
more this time in front of its home crowd in Zurich.
Home fans clapped, chanted and cheered tirelessly throughout the tournament.
Switzerland failed to score a single goal in the three finals.
The Swiss lost to the Czechs 2-0 in 2024, and were defeated by the U.S. 1-0 in
overtime last year. They also finished second in 2018 and 2013 when they were
defeated by rival Sweden.
Switzerland also finished second back in 1935.
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