Before the crown jewel of the tournament tomorrow morning between Canada and the United States, there is a bronze medalist to crown. Sebastian Aho leads his Finnish squad into a rematch from the tournament's very first game, battling Slovakia after the teams fell to in the semifinals on Friday. Finland blew a 2-0 lead to the Canadians, while Slovakia was routed, 6-2, by the Americans.
Their paths have been a little different since meeting last week
Starting the tournament in the same group, Finland and Slovakia met on February 11 to open the tournament. Slovakia broke the ice before Finland tied it up in the second. The game was won in the third period. Aho lost the draw and his position in front of the net, having the go-ahead goal scored on his watch. Slovakia added two more to open the Games with a 4-1 win.
After that loss, Finland went on a tear. They recovered for a decisive win over rival Sweden before stomping Italy, 11-0, claiming the second spot in the group and the final bye into the quarterfinals. Finland needed overtime to beat Switzerland, climbing back from 2-0 in the third period to win, 3-2. Ironically, they were on the opposite side of the coin two days later against Canada.
While Finland was the runner-up in Group B, Slovakia earned the top spot. They squeaked out a 3-2 win over Italy before losing to Sweden, but secured the #3 seed with a late goal to finish with a better goal differential. They took off their belts and spanked Germany in the quarterfinal, winning 6-2, only for the favor to be returned on Friday by the United States.
Aho has been on fire since over the last three games
After a disastrous third period against Slovakia and a quiet game against Sweden, Sebastian Aho has been tough to silence. He finally broke through during Finland's epic game to close the group stage, scoring twice and adding an assist to record his first points of the tournament. In the playoff rounds, Aho got the comeback against Switzerland rolling and had an assist against Canada.
No forward on Finland's roster has seen the ice more than Aho through five games. Additionally, no one on the team has more goals than him either. There's a solid contingent with two, but Aho leads the way with three, while his five points are tied for second. Aho has played a lot of hockey in this tournament, and he'll be asked to do it one more time to capture the bronze medal.
Who else we'll be watching (other than Aho)
Mikko Rantanen (FIN): His name still brings jeers throughout the Caniac nation, but, like Aho, Rantanen has started to get rolling after a slow start. He scored Finland's opening goal on Friday, assisted by Aho. Rantanen leads Team Finland with six points, and he'll need to be far more present than he was when these two met last week. Plus, Rantanen has a knack for big games in big spots.
Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK): The reigning Olympic MVP might not keep that crown this year, but there has been nothing disappointing about Slafkovsky's time in Milan. Even with a tougher level of competition, he has been outstanding. Slafkovsky is tied for second in goal scoring (4), anchored by a pair against Finland in the opener, and his eight points are tied for fourth at the Olympics.
Slovakia wins the bronze if...
They can rinse and repeat their performance from the first time around. This means getting Samuel Hlavaj back on track after he was lifted from Friday's game, allowing four goals to the United States. He stopped 39 shots to stymie Finland's offense. A lot of the offensive output relies on a select few players, and they'll need to play out of their minds to secure their second straight bronze.
Finland wins the bronze if...
They exercise the depth advantage they hold over Slovakia, which wasn't present last week. That goes from the goal out. Juuse Saros needs to put together one more incredible performance. He did everything in his power to beat Canada on Friday, only to fall one save short. Most importantly, it means Finland's Top 6 coming to play and imposing their will on Slovakia.