The World Junior Championship semifinals are today and Winnipeg Jets prospects Cole Perfetti, Henri Nikkanen, and Ville Heinola will be playing tonight.
The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship is down to the last four teams in the competition and all three prospects from the Winnipeg Jets and their teams are still alive and will be playing in the semifinals this evening.
Those prospects are Cole Perfetti of Canada and Henri Nikkanen, and Ville Heinola of Finland. Perfetti and Canada will be facing off against Russia in the first game, then Nikkanen, Heinola, and Finland will be matching up against the United States.
Canada vs Russia
5:00 p.m. Central Time
The first semifinal of the day is a rematch of last year’s Gold Medal Game. Canada will be looking to beat Russia for the second straight year after winning Gold in a thrilling 4-3 comeback. Russia had a two-goal, 3-1, lead with just over ten minutes remaining in the game, but Canada scored three unanswered to take home the Gold.
Winnipeg Jets
This game left the Russians heartbroken and they will look to right their wrongs from a year ago and beat Canada on their home ice at Rogers Place in Canada.
Canada is undefeated entering today and Winnipeg Jets 2020 first round draft pick, Cole Perfetti has played well. In Canada’s 3-0 quarterfinal win against the Czech Republic, Perfetti was held silent with no points but finished the contest with one shot and a +1 plus/minus.
So far this tournament, Perfetti has one goal, four assists, 11 shots on goal, and a +5 plus/minus in 5 games. Perfetti will be looking to put his full skills on display tonight against a tough Russia team.
These teams faced off against each other in a pre-tournament game and Canada won the contest 1-0. Perfetti did register an assist on Canada’s lone goal. The game was physical and tight-checking and tonight should be no different.
Finland vs United States
8:30 p.m. CST
The second and final game of tonight should be another great game as Finland will face off against the United States.
Finland is coming into the semifinal matchup after a great comeback against Sweden. Finland was trailing 2-0 five minutes into the second period then Henri Nikkanen scored to put Finland within one and it started the comeback.
Finland is on the board!!! pic.twitter.com/p1usWmay4g
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 2, 2021
Finland then scored two more in the third, with their final goal coming with under a minute in the game to give them a 3-2 win.
Even though he just had one assist in the win, Heinola played outstanding in the quarterfinals. Heinola played over 27 minutes in the game, registered two shots, had a +1 plus/minus, and was named Finland’s player of the game. Heinola will be looking for a repeat performance tonight and lead Finland to the finals.
On the other hand, the United States is looking for revenge against Finland. The U.S. has been eliminated by Finland in the two most recent editions of the tournament. In the 2019 tournament, Finland beat the U.S. 3-2 in the Gold Medal Game, and last year, Finland eliminated the U.S. in the quarterfinals.
Where to Catch the Games
If you are located in Canada the games will be shown on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5. If you are viewing from the United States, both games will be on the NHL Network.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Do you think both Canada and Finland will win today? Leave your comments below!
*All Stats Provided by the IIHF*