2025 Worlds Semifinal Preview: Canada vs. Finland

Canada will face Finland in the second semifinal matchup, with puck drop scheduled for 1 pm ET on Saturday, April 19.

How They Got Here

Canada went 3-0-0-1 in group play, while Finland went 2-0-0-2.

Canada finished second in Group A, having scored 17 goals and allowing just three. Their only loss came to the United States in a 2-0 decision. In the other three games, they outscored their opponents 16-1 with two shutouts. They easily took care of Japan in the quarterfinals, winning 9-1 with 13 players registering a point.

Finland started off the tournament with losses to the United States and Canada, but rallied for a pair of wins over Czechia and Switzerland. They faced an undefeated Sweden team in the quarterfinals and won 3-2 off a game-winning goal from Susanna Tapani.

What to Expect

Most people are probably expecting Canada to win this game - and the US to win its respective semifinal - but with single-game decision makers, anything can happen. We should never forget the 2019 semifinal, which saw these two teams meet - and Finland came out on top, 4-2. The Finns went on to narrowly lose the gold medal to the United States in game-winning shots.

That said, Finland has not been strong offensively this tournament, and they're going to have to find that spark to have any chance against a very strong Canadian team. They scored just seven goals in the preliminary round; of the surviving teams, only Czechia (6) scored fewer.

Defender Ronja Savolainen has accounted for much of Finland's offense, with three goals and one assist for four points in five games. Elisa Holopainen (1-2--3) and Noora Tulus (0-3--0) have also contributed. Look for those three to be called upon during Saturday's game, while simultaneously hoping some other players - like Petra Nieminen, Julia Liikala, and Elli Suoranta - can also step up.

Canada's offense has come from, well, everywhere. Marie-Philip Poulin leads the tournament in scoring with nine points (3-6--9), while Jennifer Gardiner has been impressive in her senior national team debut (5-2--7). Renata Fast has six points from the backend, while Laura Stacey has five points as well.

It's likely going to be Sanni Ahola (3.67 GAA, .8382 sv percentage) vs. Ann-Renée Desbiens (1.00 GAA, .9556 sv percentage) in net. There's also a chance that Troy Ryan elects to go with Kristen Campbell, who needed only to make five saves in the quarterfinal matchup against Japan and who has a 0.67 GAA in this tournament.

As an aside, Canada is strong on special teams, so this could easily factor into Saturday's game if Finland isn't well-disciplined. They're the top power play team, having capitalized on three of seven advantages, and are a perfect 10-for-10 on the penalty kill.

Canada won the preliminary round meeting between these two teams by a 5-0 decision. Gardiner had two goals, while Poulin, Ella Shelton, and Emma Maltais also scored. Campbell made 24 saves. Emilia Kyrkkö allowed four goals on 13 shots before Anni Keisala came in her relief, stopping 21 of 22 shots faced.

Last year, Finland went home with the bronze medal, while Canada took gold.

The winner of this game will face the winner of Saturday's earlier semifinal (USA/Czechia) in the gold medal game on Sunday at 12 noon ET. The loser will face the loser of the other game in the bronze medal game on Sunday at 8 AM ET.