Canada advances to Hlinka Gretzky Cup final with 6-3 win over Finland

Canadian team captain Berkly Catton scored twice in a 5-0 blanking of Switzerland at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Wednesday. A Hockey Canada logo is shown on the jersey of a player with Canada’s National Junior Team during a training camp practice in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

EDMONTON — Canada scored twice early in the third period to snap a 2-2 deadlock and then held on to beat Finland 6-3 on Friday to advance to the championship final at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Canada’s Under-18 men’s team will play the United States for gold on Saturday. The Americans beat Slovakia 5-2 in Friday’s other semifinal.

Finland dominated the play and shot clock in the first half of the opening period in Friday’s semifinal, with Olli Kylmala giving Finland an early lead with a power-play goal at 5:46.

But the Canadians settled down after that, and found their game at Rogers Place.

“I was not surprised that we came out a little tentative in the first period, but we also knew what Finland was going to throw at us. They are a fast team, and their transition game is really good, and as much as you talk about it and prepare for it, sometimes the players need to feel it for a bit,” said Canadian head coach Ryan Oulahen.

“We were able to reset once we got to the TV timeout midway through the period, and from then on I thought we got back to our game. It was a good test for us to be able to score at five-on-five and fight through that adversity.”

Benjamin Veitch scored twice, including once into an empty net, while Malik L’Italien, Landon DuPont, Jaakko Wycisk and Kayden Stroeder (empty net) added singles for Canada. Wycisk added three assists, while Veitch added pair of helpers.

“We have been doing a great job as a line, and being able to get goals on the board to help our team win is a huge privilege, so we are happy with how we are playing,” said Veitch, who along with Wycisk and Stroeder gave the Finland defenders nightmares.

“We play with a physical presence that other teams do not like to see, but we still have skill and all three of us are able to make plays. The physicality that we bring, the hard work ethic we have down low when we get pucks deep and the simple plays we make down low are all reasons why our line has been successful,” Veitch added.

Kylmala scored twice for Finland, while Max Poikela added a single.

Canada outshot the Finns 34-25. Leif Oaten stopped 22 of 25 shots for Canada and had to be sharp early when Finland applied all kinds of pressure. Samuel Heikkinen stopped 29 of 33 shots for Finland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2026.

The Canadian Press