OTTAWA – USA will be playing for back-to-back gold medals for the first time in their history when they take on Finland in the final at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. After beating Sweden for gold last year, Team USA will take on the team that ousted the Swedes from the final this time around. 

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The gold-medal game will be played Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET. 

Finland earned a 4-3 overtime victory over Sweden in stunning fashion in the early semifinal, getting a goal from Benjamin Rautainen late in the extra frame to get back to the final for the first time since 2022. 

USA’s scoreline looked more comfortable, but they pulled away late in a tense battle with Czechia in the late semifinal. Cole Eiserman (NYI) scored a power-play goal in the second period to give USA the go-ahead goal it needed on the way to a 4-1 win to reach the final for the second straight time.

Team USA will be seeking their seventh gold medal at the World Juniors, while Finland seeks its sixth gold medal and first since 2019. No country other than USA, Canada or Finland has won a World Junior Championship gold medal going all the way back to 2012 when Sweden won. That trend will continue.

Here is what we’ll be watching for when these two World Juniors powers square off again.

Finland By The Numbers Going Into Gold Medal Game

• Record: 4-1-0-1
• Goals For: 19 (4th)
• Goals Against: 14 (3rd)
• Power Play Efficiency: 4-for-22 | 18.2% (8th)
• Penalty Kill Efficiency: 19-for-21 | 90.5% (2nd)
• Team Save Percentage: .935 (1st)

USA By The Numbers Going Into Gold-Medal Game

• Record: 5-0-1-0
• Goals For: 33 (1st)
• Goals Against: 13 (2nd)
• Power Play Efficiency: 9-for-25 | 36% (1st)
• Penalty Kill Efficiency: 18-for-22 | 81.8% (4th)
• Team Save Percentage: .927 (3rd)

USA’s Date With Destiny

The message from coach David Carle to the team is to create their own story and their own history by winning this tournament, but no one on USA’s roster has shied away from their opportunity to go back-to-back for the first time. In fact, they’ve embraced it and in the case of players that were part of last year’s team, it’s personal.

The core of this team has been the driving force of it. That includes Ryan Leonard (WSH), Gabe Perreault (NYR), Zeev Buium (MIN), Danny Nelson (NYI), Oliver Moore (CHI), Drew Fortescue (NYR) and Trey Augustine (DET). These are the guys that were regulars on last year’s roster and they’ve all played big minutes, in key roles and have made an impact.

USA Hockey has been looking to take the next step for some years in terms of being consistently competitive, constantly playing for gold medals and not settling for anything less than that. This team has a chance to make that more than just talk. 

Buium’s commitment to defense, Leonard’s discipline, Moore and Nelson’s relentless forechecking, Fortescue’s defenseive responsibility, Augustine’s big-game saves and Perreault’s clutch scoring have all shown up in the times they needed them.

These players have a chance to secure a legacy that has eluded many of the very best players in the NHL today. But the only way to do it is to win gold.

Trey Augustine Vs. Petteri Rimpinen

The goaltending matchup in this one is an absolute dandy. Petteri Rimpinen has probably been the best, most consistent goalie in this tournament with some major wins for Finland in this tournament. He is just shy of a .940 save percentage in six appearances and has been the only goalie that has played any minutes for the Finns.

Trey Augustine (DET) is the veteran, playing in his second gold medal game and coming off of a sterling performance against Czechia where he stopped 26 of 27. He’s allowed just one goal in each of his last two starts.

Augustine did not have his best against Finland in the 4-3 OT loss. It’s very rare you’ll see Augustine lose to the same team twice in a row. In fact, it hasn’t happened since October, 2023, when Boston College swept Michigan State in a non-conference series. The expectation should be that Augustine is dialed back in for this game, even though he's going to be playing on very short rest.

The goaltending can be the difference in this game and you’ll be looking at two of the very best in this tournament.

Finland Wins In The Margins

As has always been the case with Finland, they limit mistakes and make you pay if you make one. They don’t overcommit too much and don’t cheat for offense. They are going to make you work for everything you get and there won’t be much to get.

They have the tournament’s best penalty kill, with only two power-play goals allowed all tournament.

As they showed in their USA and Sweden wins earlier in the tournament, they don’t need much of an opening to score. And they’ll score ‘em greasy if they need to. If they dictate the pace of a game and slow things down a certain amount, it plays to their advantage.

They are also a very competitive team that will fight for every puck and not relent in the hard areas of the ice. Finland also is disciplined about how much it protects the middle of the ice.

Lastly, they have a great goalie between the pipes who will clean up some of their mistakes that are few and far between and give them the big saves when they need them.

The Rematch

These two teams have squared off twice already since they got to Ottawa. The first one was a pre-tournament game where USA won 5-2. Finland was without Konsta Helenius (BUF) in that game, though. In the second game, Finland won 4-3 in overtime in a game that Trey Augustine and the rest of Team USA would certainly like to have back.

Finland took advantage of poor puck management from Team USA and turned those giveaways into offense. They scored the first goal shorthanded off of a turnover, then had a 3-2 lead after two periods. USA managed to tie the game in the third period, but Tuomas Uronen (VGK) took a shot that went in and out of Augustine’s glove for the game-winner.

David Carle said the team needs to do a lot differently because he thought his team wasn’t very good in that game. Managing the puck is critical against an opportunistic Finnish team that pounces on mistakes.

USA also played Finland in the semifinal of last year's World Junior championship, earning a narrow 3-2 win on their way to winning gold the next day. Augustine was the difference in that game, stopping 19 of 21 shots.

Finland and USA have played in the gold-medal game once before, with Finland coming out on top in 2019 thanks to a late goal from Kaapo Kakko. USA is otherwise 6-2 in gold-medal games all-time. Finland is 5-5.

Players To Watch In The Gold-Medal Game

Ryan Leonard, RW, USA (WSH)

USA’s captain is making his impact felt and was one of their best players throughout the playoff round. He is second on the team with eight points, but always seems to have his very best when it matters most. He’s a target for other teams, which has led him to take and draw penalties, but he’s always impacting the game in some way. These are the moments he lives for and has seemed to take this team’s quest to go back-to-back personally.

Konsta Helenius, C, Finland (BUF)

One of the top set-up men in this tournament with seven assists, Helenius still hasn’t had a wow game, but he’s played effectively. He hasn’t really taken over any shifts or many games, but he makes meaningful plays on the regular for his team. If he opens it up at all, Finland could be even more dangerous offensively.

Zeev Buium, D, USA (MIN)

Averaging nearly 25 minutes a game, Buium has been a massive impact player for Team USA. He’s only scored four points, but he is his team’s most valuable skater by a fair margin. He played over 11 minutes in the third period against Czechia and was matched up with their top lines regularly. He’s probably going to get a very heavy dose of Konsta Helenius in the gold-medal game.

Kasper Halttunen, LW, Finland (SJS)

For being such a good goal scorer, he only has one in the tournament, but he’s dangerous. Halttunen has size and he’s a threat on the PP with a devastating shot. He has shown some good moves in the tournament and has three assists. I’d expect him to be a bigger factor in the game against USA.

Cole Hutson, D, USA (WSH)

Hutson has been the team’s leading scorer and at times one of USA’s most dangerous players. He has nine points in the tournament. He’s a key in this game because he didn’t have his best night against Finland last time out. If he manages the puck well and doesn’t lose that creative flair that makes him so dangerous, he will make an impact on the game. 

Emil Pininiemi, D, Finland (PIT)

He’s been one of Finland’s top defensemen in the tournament, playing the second most minutes on the team at nearly 20. He’s utilized on the power play and also is a scoring threat from the blue line. He’s also been a guy that can get caught in bad spots at times and has taken some tough penalties. That said, he gives Finland a needed element on the back end.

Follow FloHockey's Coverage Of Team USA At The WJC

FloHockey is providing comprehensive editorial and video coverage of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. With a team of content creators on site and leading WJC analyst Chris Peters providing stories and columns throughout the event, make FloHockey your home to learn more about the 2025 World Juniors. FloHockey will be following Team USA and Team Canada closely, while tracking the rest of the tournament on site. See all the stories here.

How To Watch The 2025 World Junior Championship

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship will air on TSN and RDS on television in Canada. The tournament will be streamed on TSN+ in Canada, as well. 

In the United States, NHL Network will be the television home of the World Junior Championship. Streaming information for USA is not currently available.

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