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Canucks’ Aatu Räty scores again as Finland stuns Canada, advance to World Championship Gold Medal game
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Dave Hall
May 30, 2026, 17:05 EDTUpdated: May 30, 2026, 17:06 EDT
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It was semifinal day at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Zurich, Switzerland.
After three of the four Vancouver Canucks representatives were eliminated in the quarterfinals, Aatu Räty was the lone skater left standing. He and Team Finland were tasked with facing a Canadian squad that entered the game with just a single overtime loss in its tournament record.
Despite trailing after the opening period, Finland rattled off three consecutive goals to earn a 4-2 victory and punched its ticket to Sunday’s gold medal game.
The Finns struck first when Patrik Puistola ripped a perfectly placed shot over the shoulder of Canadian netminder Jet Greaves off the rush.
Canada responded quickly, however, as a pair of St. Louis Blues forwards connected on back-to-back goals to give the Canadians their first — and ultimately only — lead of the afternoon.
Robert Thomas opened the scoring for Canada after a shot deflected off the chest of teammate Dylan Holloway and landed directly on his stick for an easy tap-in from the slot.
Just moments later, Holloway doubled the lead. Taking an aerial feed in stride from Macklin Celebrini, he drove down the wing before wiring a short-side shot past the Finnish goaltender for his second point of the period.
Down by a goal heading into the second period, Finland responded with its strongest stretch of the day.
Just 49 seconds into the middle frame, Aleksander Barkov tied the game. Carrying the puck into the offensive zone, Barkov dropped it back at the blue line before driving hard to the net. After a rebound kicked loose in front, the Finnish captain used his long reach to poke it home and even the score.
Midway through the period, Konsta Helenius gave Finland the lead for good. The Buffalo Sabres prospect broke free off a perfect breakout before patiently pulling the puck to his forehand and sliding it five-hole on Greaves.
Moments later, Räty provided the insurance marker Finland was searching for. Joining from covering at the point, the Finnish forward drifted into the slot before making a quick move around a defender and snapping home his fourth goal of the tournament to extend the lead to 4-2.
From there, Finland locked things down defensively and held Canada scoreless through the final period. Despite being outshot 30-21, the Finns weathered the pressure and secured their place in the championship game.
Räty ended a brief two-game pointless streak with the goal. He added two shots, two penalty minutes, and finished plus-1 while enjoying a tournament high 16:38 of ice time from Finland’s third line.
The gold medal game is scheduled for 11:20 a.m. PT on Sunday, when Finland will take on host Switzerland, with former Vancouver Canuck Pius Suter.

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