Spotlight
2022  h g c  f i n  c z e  t e a m  b r o n z e  a u g6

Hlinka Gretzky Cup Recap: Finland 3, Czechia 1

Vinni had 21 saves to help Finland to a win over Czechia and the bronze medal in Red Deer

Ryan Ohashi
|
August 6, 2022
|
RED DEER, Alta. – Eemil Vinni made 21 saves to earn Player of the Game and lift Finland to 3-1 win over Czechia in the bronze medal game Saturday afternoon at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

The Finns opened the scoring late in the first period as top prospect Aron Kiviharju scored his first of the tournament, beating Czechia’s Michael Hrabal to the blocker side from the right face-off dot. Kiviharju finished the tournament with six points (1-5—6).

But Czechia pushed back to tie the game with 25 seconds left in the period as Eduard Sale beat Vinni past the glove from the top of the slot to notch his fourth goal and sixth point of the tournament.

At 13:29 in the second period, Arrtu Alasiurua tapped home a puck that sat between the feet of a Czech defender off a nice play from Kasper Halttunen to give Finland a 2-1 lead.

Hrabal finished with another strong performance. The six-foot-six Czech goaltender made 22 saves and ended the tournament with a .917 save percentage across four starts. The Finns wrapped up the bronze medal with a shutdown third period, adding an empty-net goal by Jesse Kiiskinen to cap the scoring.

The medal is the first for Finland since 2012 when it claimed silver.

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

Photos
Videos
2026 WJC: CAN 2 – SWE 1 (Pre-Tournament)
Martin scored both goals to lead Canada to a victory in Kitchener.
2025 World Girls' Ice Hockey Weekend
See how Canadians celebrated World Girls' Ice Hockey Weekend in 2025.
2025-26 NWT: USA 4 – CAN 1 (Game 4)
Jenner scored her 50th goal, but Canada dropped the series finale.
2025 WJAC: Day 5 (Saturday, December 13)
Canada West took silver while Canada East fell to Sweden in the bronze medal game at the Junior A World Challenge.
Schedule
Close
Credit  
X

Respect for Privacy

We use some essential cookies to make this Web site work.
We need your consent to use additional cookies which we use to improve your experience on our site

Privacy Policy