Canada’s men’s hockey team narrowly beats Finland in the Olympic semifinal, advancing to the gold‑medal match

Canada’s men’s hockey team is headed to the Olympic finals after beating Finland 3-2 in the semifinals. They will play for the gold on Sunday, while Finland will play for the bronze on Saturday.

Canada’s opponent in the finals will be determined later Friday, when the U.S. men’s team faces off against Slovakia. 

The match came one day after the U.S. women’s team defeated Canada and scored a gold medal in a thrilling 2-1 overtime comeback. 

Canada played an offensive game, taking 39 shots on goal. Finland played defensively and took 17 shots. 

Finland’s Mikko Rantanen scored the game’s first goal while the team was on a power play with just three minutes left in the first period. He managed to get the puck seconds after a face-off near Canada’s net, then sent it hurtling past Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington. 

Early in the second period, Erik Haula scored a second goal for Finland after breaking away from the pack and speeding down the ice to shoot the puck past Binnington. 

Canada scored its first goal in the last minutes of the second period while on a power play. Team Canada’s Sam Reinhart was credited with the goal after deflecting a down-the-ice shot from teammate Cale Makar into the net to roars from the crowd. 

Canada tied it up in the third period when Shea Theodore shot the puck past Finnish goalie Juuse Saros during a scrum at Finland’s net. 

Canada took the lead in the final 35 seconds of the game when Nathan MacKinnon scored during a power play. The goal happened after a series of rapid passes just in front of Finland’s net.  

The play was immediately challenged, with referees reviewing at multiple camera angles to ensure it had not gone offside, but it was confirmed by the referees. 

The last 20 seconds of the game were played as a five-on-five faceoff, with Finland pulling their goalie from the net. Finland took a shot on goal in the last seconds, but the puck was caught by Binnington.  

The crowd, which Canadian outlet CBC reported was mostly Canadian, burst into cheers in the final seconds of the game and roared with approval when Canada was victorious. The players stayed on the ice for several minutes to celebrate their win, and could be seen embracing and shaking hands as the crowd cheered. 

Canada’s Brad Marchand told a NBC News correspondent that the team is made up of “an incredible group of guys” who were able to “keep pushing” when they were down by two goals. He said that multiple players “stepped up in leadership” with captain Sidney Crosby out due to an injury. 

“Those guys are so dominant when they get out there together, especially on a power play,” Marchand said. “You can just kind of feel it. You can feel it coming. All you need’s an opportunity.” 

Marchand added that the team is ready to face either the U.S. or Slovakia on Sunday. 

“Both teams are so competitive and so deep,” Marchand said. “Whoever it is, we’ll be ready for that.”