Finland shuts out Latvia at World Junior Championship

Finland keeps their point streak in Group B play alive after beating Latvia 3-0 on Thursday.

Finland holds first place in Group B with a 2-0-1-0 record and will have a chance to win the group on New Year’s Eve against the United States.

The Finns did most of their damage in the first half. At 4:43, Jani Nyman’s snipe over Patriks Berzins to make it 1-0, breaking up a good start by the Latvians. At 29:34, Nyman set up Niko Huuhtanen in close, with the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect sending a backhander over Berzins for the 2-0 goal.

Latvia was looking to create something in the dying stages but came up short. After a pass to the blueline with the empty net went array, Niks Fenenko was beaten to the puck by Konsta Kapanen, who fired the puck into the open cage for the 3-0 goal.

The goaltenders were the stars of the show. Finland’s Jani Lampinen was excellent, with the undrafted prospect stopping all 31 shots sent his way. Berzins was also good at the other end, making 26 saves to keep his team in the fight.