Canada’s men’s hockey team narrowly defeats Finland in the Olympic semi-finals, advancing to the gold medal game

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

Canada’s opponent in the final will be decided later on Friday, there American men’s team will face Slovakia.

This game happened one day after the American women’s team defeated Canada and won the gold medal in a a thrilling 2-1 comeback in overtime.

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

Mikko Rantanen from Finland scored the first goal in the game when the team was still fighting with only three minutes left in the first half. He was able to get the puck seconds after facing the Canadian net, then sent it hard past Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington.

Early in the second half, Erik Haula scored Finland’s second goal after breaking free from the puck and moving down the ice to fire the puck past Binnington.

Canada scored its first goal in the final minutes of the second half on a power play. Team Canada player Sam Reinhart was the one to score after bending the shot of teammate Cale Makar into the net to roars from the crowd.

Canada tied it in the third period when Shea Theodore shot past Finland goalkeeper Juuse Saros as he hit the Finnish net.

Canada took the lead in the final 35 seconds of the game when Nathan MacKinnon scored on the power play. The goal came after a series of quick passes in front of the Finnish net.

The play was immediately challenged, with the referees checking multiple cameras to make sure it wasn’t offside, but it was confirmed by the referees.

The last 20 seconds of the game were played in a five-on-five tie, with Finland pulling its goalkeeper into the net. Finland scored in the final seconds, but the puck was caught by Binnington.

The crowd, reported by Canadian broadcaster CBC to be mostly Canadian, erupted in cheers in the final seconds of the game and roared in approval as Canada won. The players stayed on the ice for a few minutes celebrating their win, and were seen hugging and shaking hands as the crowd cheered.

Canada’s Brad Marchand told an NBC News reporter that the team was made up of an “amazing group of guys” who were able to “keep pushing” when they were down by two goals. He said many players have “stepped up to leadership” and captain Sidney Crosby is out due to injury.

“These guys are so strong together, especially in the playoffs,” Marchand said. “You just feel it. You feel it coming. All you need is an opportunity.”

Marchand added that the team is ready to face the US or Slovakia on Sunday.

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