ZURICH, May 31 (Reuters) – Konsta Helenius struck the only goal of the game in sudden-death overtime as Finland beat Switzerland 1-0 to win the gold medal at the Ice Hockey World Championship on Sunday, breaking the hearts of the hosts as they lost their third final in three years.
After suffering an overtime loss to the United States in last year’s final, the Swiss were thwarted again, this time by a disciplined Finnish side who kept their cool to the very end when Helenius struck 10:42 into the extra period.
Finland had a goal disallowed for high sticking in the first period, and a pair of penalties with five seconds left in the frame saw them start the second with two men in the sin bin, but they expertly killed the penalties despite a raucous home crowd roaring on the Swiss.
There were more penalties in the third period but neither side could break the deadlock in a tense, tactical affair, and the game went into a frenetic period of sudden-death three-on-three overtime.
Jesse Puljujarvi hit the post for the Finns within 30 seconds and the action boiled from end to end until the 20-year-old Helenius drifted out of the left corner and back across the ice before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the net then throwing off his gloves and helmet to begin celebrating.
The victory ensured a fifth world crown for the Finns, and Switzerland have now played in six world championship deciders without ever winning the gold medal.
“I always dreamed of scoring that goal, and now it happened,” an elated Helenius said before revealing that the Finns had learned some lessons following a 6-5 loss to the Swiss in the group stage.
“We defended well and that was the plan, to keep the game like close. We were not going to let them score easy goals like we did last game, so that was the plan, and it worked well.”
Earlier, Norway pulled off a sensational 3-2 overtime win over Canada in the bronze-medal game to secure their first-ever medal in the tournament, with Noah Steen getting the winner 3:32 into the extra period to stun the top-seeded Canadians and send them home empty-handed.
“Absolutely indescribable. I feel a sense of pride in the group and that we have done this together, it is so deserved. It is so wonderful to feel the feeling that it is not luck, but that we have truly deserved it,” goal scorer Steen told newspaper Verdens Gang.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
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